


Unraveled

by dongyrn



Series: MCU: Unchained [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Chitauri - Freeform, Dimension Doors, F/F, F/M, Parallel Universes Give Me A Headache, Post-Apocalypse, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 56,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9303011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dongyrn/pseuds/dongyrn
Summary: Unintended interference makes one of Blink's portals go haywire. It sucks her, Kitty, and the Brown sisters through it and into an uncertain and unforgiving future. Can a group of renegade lab experiments and mutants find each other and survive before their timelines become completely unraveled and lost? OC, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Clarice Ferguson/Blink.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Standard Disclaimer:** All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily Marvel, though quite namely not me. Don't own a thing aside from my OCs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the fourth story in my MCU series. Most of the others are bunched under the Avengers category, but this will be all X-Men. I'll try to fill in as much background as I can, but really, you should at minimum pick up the _[Unchained](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9282002), [Unbound](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9300533),_ and _Unraveled: Prologue_ stories first. There's lots of one-shots and shorts in between as well to spend time with if you like, check out my [MCU: Unchained Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/628508) page.

Downtown New York City

Charles Xavier guided his wheelchair into the lobby of the apartment building. It was rather elegant considering the location downtown, though even in the early evening as it was now the place was otherwise deserted.

He halted his progress and turned his head slightly. "You may remain here," he said mildly in his rich, cultured voice.

Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, and currently playing the role of his mentor's bodyguard, shifted his feet irritably. "Professor-" he started.

"It will be alright, Scott," Xavier interrupted him gently. "I shall be back momentarily."

Summers sighed in resignation and leaned up against the wall where he might observe both the lobby and the street outside. Chuckling softly to himself, Xavier continued on towards the elevators.

A few moments later saw him on the twelfth floor, rolling noiselessly down the carpeted hallway until he ended up in front of a door unmarked save for the apartment number. He allowed a slight smile to spread across his face as he sat patiently, not sending out any mental message to announce his presence.

The elderly mutant was only kept waiting for a few seconds before he felt a presence nearby. Shortly thereafter the door opened cautiously and an olive-skinned woman with lustrous black hair poked her head out.

"Oh! You _are_ here!" she exclaimed. "Madame said you would be, please forgive my ignorance. I'm new here."

"It's not a problem," he reassured her quietly. "May I?"

"Oh, please do!" she said abashedly, standing aside and propping the door open. She wore a simple but modest white gown and had sandaled feet poking out from under the long hem.

Once he was inside the dimly lit apartment, the girl closed the door behind them and walked around the Professor's chair. "My name's Isabelle, but everyone calls me Dizzy. Follow me, please."

Xavier smiled slightly as he followed the young woman through an ornate study and towards the back patio. He only lightly touched her mind but could tell that the mutant girl had enormous potential as a mentalist.

Isabelle stood to the side as she slid the patio door open, gesturing for Xavier to proceed on out. He did so with a gracious smile, and she closed the door gently behind him again.

Seated in another, though non-powered, wheelchair was an ancient-looking woman of uncertain ancestry. Her grey hair was tied back severely in a tight bun, giving her face a skeletal look. She was wrapped in a dark grey shawl over her black woolen dress, her eyes covered by a pair of rose-tinted sunglasses.

"Hello, Charles," she intoned with a voice that sounded like the wheezing of rusty pipes. "So good of you to join me."

"Well, your message for me was most intriguing, Madame Web," Xavier replied levelly as he wheeled around to face her. The cool fall air wasn't nearly as strong as he would expect it to be this high over the New York City landscape, but it was still enough that he felt the chill through his suit made out of good English wool.

Madame Web smiled thinly, her lips drawn across her face in the caricature of a grin. "Yes, I imagine so. Your fondness for your students is legendary. This does not affect just them, however."

"Oh?" Xavier inquired politely. He knew from past experience that there was no use in hurrying the precognitive mutant, nor was there any way for him to extract from her what she would reveal in her own time. The woman was a powerful telepath, one who rivaled himself even. And besides that, he knew he was there at her leisure. If she felt strongly enough about something to actually request his presence, he was damn well going to listen to it.

Web sighed like a breeze blowing through a long-abandoned steel mill. "This concerns only a small number of girls from your school. The others, however… you may still be interested in their future."

Xavier folded his hands in his lap and waited while the woman gathered her thoughts.

"Three girls who call themselves sisters and yet are not, though they look practically identical," she began in a low voice, increasing in clarity as she spoke. "The oldest charming and gregarious, the middle driven and angry, the youngest serious and thoughtful. All have been blessed with powers, some the same and some unique. Yet all three share a powerful bond, one that ties them closer than actual blood."

"You're speaking of the three Brown sisters," Xavier murmured when she paused for breath. "Caitlin and Rebecca I know fairly well, though I haven't made the acquaintance of Abigail yet."

"And then there are two more players," Web continued as if Xavier had not spoken. "One who walks through obstacles in life, one who makes her own holes through them."

The Professor nodded to himself, clearly recognizing the description of two of his youngest X-Men, Kitty Pryde and Clarice Ferguson, also known as Shadowcat and Blink. The teens were often found in the company of both Caitlin and Rebecca, and now Abby as well since she had joined the group.

Madame Web inhaled deeply, smoothing the shawl over her shoulders as she exhaled. "All will go on a journey, and none will escape unchanged. Whether they will all return or not," she mentioned distractedly, "I cannot see. My vision is blocked by both distance and time."

She cleared her raspy voice as if unsure whether or not to continue. "There are many paths laid out before them," she finally continued in a harsh whisper. "Some lead to disaster, others to unmitigated success. Some look to be the correct path home but in fact, extend the journey almost beyond endurance." She sighed heavily once more. "There are so few paths open where they all return alive, if at all…"

Xavier nodded again as she trailed off, more firmly this time. "I thank you for your information, Charlotte," he said familiarly. "I shall go warn them immediately."

"Oh, Charles," she said sadly, unerringly gazing at his face with her blind eyes. "It's far too late for that."

* * *

Chinatown, New York City  
One Hour Earlier

Abby Brown snickered to herself softly as she walked beside her two sisters, listening fondly to the pair of them banter. Of course, they were not related by blood, though their bond made them closer than any such coincidental kinship might suggest.

The three of them were, in fact, the result of many years of experimentation and research by the world-domineering group known as Hydra. Caitlin was the first, the brunette girl having been activated quite by accident some three years ago. She was grown as a prototype model, created for infiltration and assassination, though she'd lacked most of her programming by the time she'd escaped and had to learn things as she went along.

Abby herself was technically the next oldest, though she'd only been with the others for a few months now. She was created much in the same vein as Caitlin was, but the blonde possessed several different abilities. She'd been activated at her lab in the UK about two years ago and lost much of that time as a controllable and docile servant. She still experienced flashes of memories from her time spent as an assassin, but once she'd had her activation reset she had found herself working for the criminal gang who had captured her. And discovered a certain talent for burglary, which is how she found her new siblings.

Rebecca, now, was a bit of a different creature. The redheaded girl was built as a pure combat model, thus without the transformative abilities that both Caitlin and Abby possessed. She had one major advantage in combat, that of a shared DNA with a certain mutant by the name of Logan, otherwise known as Wolverine. The partial clone had a significant healing factor, one which made the quiet and reticent girl a powerhouse in a fight when combined with her agility, strength, resilience, and her deadly ability with knives.

Caitlin had come across Rebecca a little over a year ago while investigating what should have been the abandoned remains of her original lab. The redhead's mind had been damaged from when they had tried to activate her, and together the pair succeeded in finally burning the place to the ground.

Rebecca and Caitlin formed an instant mental bond, one which tethered Rebecca's sanity but also enabled them to sense one another's presence and at times almost allow for nonverbal communication. Once Abby had come along, they had somehow expanded this connection to include her as well. Though she didn't need it to survive, Abby was eternally grateful for its presence. It gave her a feeling of belonging, of home, that she never realized she had ever desired. Now that she had it, she didn't know what she would do without it.

And besides that, it made the three of them a coordinated terror in any fight.

The one thing the models shared was their similar appearance, one that made their relation obvious to any observer. All had the same five-foot-even height, slim athletic build, pert noses, and pale green eyes that could be warm, glacial, or burning with intensity depending on their moods. Their hair, Caitlin's being a shoulder-length curly brown, Rebecca's a silky long red, and Abby's a short blond bob, served as their major differentiation, along with a smattering of freckles across Rebecca's nose and cheeks.

"You are being irritating again," Rebecca responded to Caitlin's latest jab levelly. She was dressed casually today in jeans and a short-sleeved grey crop top, eschewing a jacket as the crisp fall breeze did not affect any of the sisters overmuch, and had her hair done back in a braid as she seemed to prefer it most of the time.

"Well, that's a given," the brunette smirked cheerfully, striding alongside in her dark green capris cargoes and white tee shirt, her hair up in a messy ponytail. "Doesn't make it any less true, though."

Rebecca let out a very put-upon sigh. "River Tam could not defeat Jacob Black in single combat."

"Oh really? You think he would just rip his shirt off and distract her with his pecs?" the longtime Summer Glau devotee said mischievously.

The pale redhead blushed at the jab, steadfastly refusing to admit she'd even seen the Twilight movies, much less developed an infatuation with the part played by Taylor Lautner. "No," she replied firmly. "He is a werewolf. He would simply transform and chew her… ass off."

"Oooh, struck a nerve there," Caitlin giggled. "I got you to cuss."

"Hush. Do not be obnoxious to cover for the fact that you are wrong."

"Abbs, back me up here," the brunette pleaded.

The blonde laughed merrily. "Oh, no, I'm not gettin' into the middle of this, luv," she replied with her English inflection. Abby usually was the more colorful of the trio, and today was no exception. She wore bright red capris leggings under a short black skirt and her usual grey hoodie jacket over a red-and-white striped tank top. Like her sisters, she wore sandals despite the weather. All three of them, whether through design or programming, tended to eschew other footwear altogether unless the situation, or combat scenario, demanded it.

"Coward," Caitlin laughed good-naturedly. "Alright, then. I'll see your werewolf form and raise you River's kickass combat moves. She took out a whole roomful of Reavers, for God's sake!"

Rebecca shook her head, a smug look on her face. "Werewolf chow," she replied, humor lacing her words.

"Nope," Caitlin replied, popping the end the word. "She'd slice and dice him into itty bitty little bits, after skinning him with her blades."

"You are delusional."

"Been accused of that in the past, yeah."

"As amusing as I am sure you find yourself, we are at our destination. Your deranged argument will have to be deferred."

"Deranged?" Caitlin scoffed as they turned down the sidewalk to cross the street. "The only thing deranged about me is-"

Her snark was derailed by the sound of honking as a cab, wanting to make a right-hand turn on red, came to a screeching halt in front of the three.

"Are you bloody well out of your mind?" Abby angrily screeched, instantly leaping onto the offensive. "Do you see the bleedin' light there? Do you? We've got the right of way at the pedestrian crossing, you arse!"

Laughing, Caitlin pulled on her irate sister's arm. "Down, girl! Let's move before the light changes!"

"Bloody daft taxi driver!" the blonde shouted over her shoulder as she allowed herself to be dragged off. She was still grumbling under her breath once they reached the relative safety of the sidewalk.

"Abby, you have certainly adjusted to living in New York City," Rebecca commented wryly.

"Why, thank you, Becca," Abby replied, her cheer quickly restored. "I do try."

They entered the curbside cafe, looking about the small shop for only a second to determine that they had arrived ahead of their friends.

"Well, let's get a table," Caitlin said. "Front or back?"

"May we sit up front?" Rebecca asked. "I enjoy watching the people."

"Sure, maybe Abbs here can find someone else to verbally assault."

"Sod off," Abby replied humorously. "I kept it verbal this time, didn't I?"

"This is very true," the redhead smirked softly as she selected a table near the window. "He would at the least not be able to sue for a damaged hood."

"It was the one bloody time," Abby sighed.

Caitlin laughed and grabbed the blonde in a quick one-armed hug as she sat in between her and her other sister. "Honestly, it was worth paying for the repairs. The look on that asshole's face was hilarious."

Just then the front door bell dinged, and a very different pair of girls walked through.

The first might have passed for another sibling, the same stature, though an inch taller, and hair as Caitlin, though her eyes were a warm brown. She wore jeans, a green tee shirt, and black leather jacket along with a stylish pair of black boots.

The second girl had long, braided purple hair and matching purple markings on her extremely pale skin, arrayed around her eyes like tattoos, though the three sisters knew them to be nothing of the sort. She had on a brown mid-thigh coat over a pale blue blouse and stonewashed jeans, with simple black flats on her feet.

"Kitty! Blink!" Caitlin cheered as the other pair approached.

"Hey, guys!" Kitty smiled, rounding the table to give each girl a hug in turn. "How's my favorite ass-kickers doing?"

"The usual," Caitlin bantered back. "Abbs almost assaulted a poor cab driver on the way in."

"Oh belt up, you cheeky girl," Abby shot at her, standing up to give the purple-haired girl a tight hug. "All right, then, Blink?"

"Hey yourself, Abby," Blink smiled as she warmly embraced the girl who had fast become her best friend. The young mutant had been rescued from an abusive foster situation by Kitty, Caitlin, and another of the younger X-Men by the name of Rogue about a half year or so ago. Abby had bonded with her instantly and they found an easy and sympathetic confidant in each other.

"What can I get you ladies to drink?" a waitress asked as she walked up.

"Chai latte, please," Abby said as she took her seat.

"Ditto!" Caitlin chirped.

"I shall have the same as well, please," Rebecca added.

Kitty snorted a laugh. "You three are a trip. Yeah, can I get a coffee with three sugars, please?"

"Coffee with cream only for me," Blink finished for the group. The waitress nodded and turned to walk back towards the kitchen as she wrote in her pad.

The five of them opened up their menus and perused the dinner offerings.

"They've got a bacon cheeseburger, Cat," the other brunette mentioned.

"Oh yeah, I see it. I'm also drooling over the meatballs, though I don't think they could hold a candle to the ones Abbs makes."

"Flatterer," Abby smirked. "What do you think, luv? Any of this nosh look good to you?"

"Huh, I'm kinda leaning towards the bacon cheeseburger myself," Blink murmured. "Ooh, sweet potato fries! Okay, got my order."

"Becca? You set?" Caitlin asked as the waitress approached with their drinks.

"Yes, I believe I am," the redhead replied. "They only have a small variety of salads, but I found one that will suffice."

"Rabbit food," her brunette sister teased.

"I am a vegetarian, not a rabbit," Rebecca distractedly replied with her standard response to the other's jab.

Blink did end up with ordering the bacon cheeseburger and sweet potato fries, as did Caitlin, though the latter asked for regular fries instead. Kitty asked for the ham and swiss panini, Rebecca a garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and Abby ended up being adventurous and ordering the fish and chips.

"Likely they'll cock it up," the blond grumbled after the waitress had left. "Hard to find a properly done fish and chips outside of the isles."

"Then why did you order it?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"I can dream, now, can't I?"

"You know, there's this really cool Irish pub near Times Square," Kitty commented. "We should try it sometime."

"Brill," Abby grinned. "It's a date for the next time, then, yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Caitlin cheered, always ready to try a new culinary venture. So long as meat was involved, of course.

After their food arrived they spent a few minutes digging into their meals before conversation inevitably picked up again.

"So, here's a question for you lot," Abby began, leveling a fry at first Blink and then Kitty. "Your real name is Clarice, but you go by Blink. While your name is Kitty, but you sometimes go by Shadowcat? What's that all about, then?"

"Well," Blink replied slowly. "For me, it's somewhat personal. I try to, you know, distance myself from my past, what I went through and all. This is who I am now, I'm an X-Man."

Kitty smiled and squeezed the other mutant's arm reassuringly. "It's easier for me, I just use Kitty when I'm not on a mission. It's my private life, my identity, and I only use Shadowcat when doing an assignment or when in training."

"Hmm," Abby mused, dipping the fry repeatedly into her ketchup. Her hand froze and her eyes widened as she was suddenly hit with inspiration. "Cor," she breathed. "That's it, that's bloody well it!"

"Abbs?" her brunette sister inquired curiously.

"We need code names as well, mates!" the blonde said, looking around the table with a wide grin on her face.

Rebecca blinked at her uncertainly. "We do?"

"We've never needed them before," Caitlin retorted after a moment's pause. "Besides which, it's not like we have a secret identity or anything we need to protect. I mean, we're just who we are, right?"

"But it would so brill!" Abby gushed.

Blink snickered at her best friend's antics. "Abby…" she sighed.

"No, really! Totally brill!"

"Well, when you put it that way," Caitlin mused and then shrugged. "Yeah, can't argue with that."

The pair turned their identical pale green eyes to regard the third member of their small family.

Rebecca shook her head with a sigh, spearing a leaf of lettuce with her fork. "It is unnecessary."

"But totally brill!" Abby grinned.

"C'mon now, Becca," Caitlin wheedled. "You know you wanna. I bet you already have one in mind now, don't you?"

The redhead steadfastly refused to meet either of their gazes, lowering her face down over her food. The others began to chuckle, knowing what her refusal to answer meant.

"You do!" Blink laughed. "You _so_ do, c'mon, share!"

Rebecca sighed somewhat embarrassedly. "I had the errant thought some time ago," she admitted. "But… it is foolish."

"Bec-caaa…" Caitlin teased.

Rebecca shook her head adamantly. "It is unnecessary. I do not require a code name. The adventures I enjoy are usually of a literary nature."

Abby snorted. "Yeah, that just means you're a right proper geek, luv."

A withering glare was sent towards the blonde which she cheerfully ignored.

"Alright then," Caitlin sighed with feigned sorrow. "You force us to make one up for you."

The redhead turned her glare towards the brunette next as if daring her to do her worst.

Caitlin snickered. "Kickass Girl."

"What."

"No? Okay, how about Red Riding Hood?"

"No."

"Hmm… Ooh, I like Falcon Tamer," the brunette goaded, referring to Rebecca's boyfriend Sam Wilson from the Avengers, a.k.a the Falcon.

Rebecca wordlessly rolled her eyes.

"Tough crowd. Okay, I got one," Caitlin grinned triumphantly. "Erza Scarlet!"

Blink snorted into her coffee, almost spitting out her mouthful. "That sounds like a porn star name," she choked out.

"It does not, she's from that really cool internet anime, Fairy Tail," Caitlin explained in mild exasperation.

The other four just stared at her blankly.

"Oh, we are so having a marathon night next chance we get," she stated.

"Caitlin…" the redhead sighed. "Fine. I shall tell you if you will stop being so obnoxious."

"I don't think there's a power in the universe that could stop Cat from being obnoxious," Kitty laughed.

"Hey!" Caitlin barked at one of her oldest friends. "I resemble that remark!"

"All right, then, give it up, girl," Abby prompted.

The redheaded girl sighed again. "Blade," she finally revealed quietly.

The others mulled over it for a few seconds.

"Isn't that one taken?" Kitty asked hesitantly.

"Not that I know of," Caitlin replied. "And besides, it suits her, totally."

"How many knives do you have about you today, luv?" Abby asked with a sly grin.

Rebecca tilted her head, her eyes dancing as she did a mental inventory. "Fourteen."

"Don't forget the one down your knickers," Abby reminded her. "You always forget that one."

"Oh, yes. Fifteen, then."

"Yeah, okay," Blink laughed. "Blade it is."

"Now what shall we do for Caitlin," Abby mused, propping her chin in the palm of her hand.

Caitlin glanced at Rebecca out of the corner of her eye. "Something tells me I'm gonna regret my earlier needling," she murmured.

"Of course not," Rebecca said levelly. "I am above such childish antics." She let a very small smirk cross her face. "Wondergirl," she added, _sotto voce_.

"Heard that."

"You did not."

"Totally did."

"You are once again delusional."

"Right," Abby broke in with a grin. "We need something to define you, yeah? The way you fight… Oh!" she exclaimed, sitting upright. "That's bloody brilliant!"

All eyes turned to her curiously as she smiled like a cat who got caught with the cream.

"Scrapper!"

"I am not sure I understand what that means…" Rebecca said slowly.

"Like someone who's small, but can really kick some major ass even if she doesn't look like she can," Caitlin replied with a smirk. "And I like it."

"So now we need one for this gorgeous woman," Blink teased.

"Oh, stop," Abby replied with false modesty. "'Sides which, I think I like Speedy."

"That's boring," Caitlin disagreed.

"It also does not encapsulate all that you are, or what you can do," Rebecca added.

"Right," Blink agreed. "I mean, from all the stories you guys tell, you're not just really fast. I still wanna see you race Surge sometime," she added.

Abby snorted. "Someday," she agreed. "So then, what do you lot suggest?"

"Your talent as a thief," Caitlin stated. "Something that shows that, how you can sneak in and out of any place at all, like a… like a Ghost!"

"Ghost?" Abby asked quizzically, furrowing her brows as she rolled the name across her tongue, savoring the flavor of it. "Yeah, I can see that. Bloody awesome, it is."

"Now all you guys need is a group name!" Blink grinned widely.

Abby blinked at her friend uncertainly. "Sorry?"

"Like a team! A team name!"

"Hmm," Caitlin also grinned while shooting her redheaded sister a mischievous glance. "Kinda like Team Jacob?"

Rebecca blushed furiously, while the other girls at the table snickered save for one.

"I still can't quite get over it," Abby mused mournfully. "Becca, a _Twilight_ fan."

"It was a phase," Rebecca mumbled into her cup.

"A very lonnng phase," Caitlin laughed. "Well, relatively speaking. But yeah, she's definitely a fan of Jacob. Especially without his shirt."

Rebecca sank deeper into her chair, her ears burning crimson with mortification. "You are incredibly irritating, Caitlin," she growled, sounding a bit like a ferocious kitten.

"True," the brunette smirked unrepentantly. "Very true."

"Just when I thought I knew my sisters," Abby intoned, raising imploring eyes to the heavens. "And then this bloody well occurs. My faith in the world is right shaken, girls."

Blink was snorting with laughter by this point, tears streaming down past the purple markings on her face as she leaned into the small blonde. "Oh, God, stop…" she wheezed. "You're killing me…"

Abby chuckled lightly and wrapped a friendly arm around the young mutant. "Never a dull moment with us, is there?"

"Nope," Kitty replied for them all. "Never ever."

Blink sighed, regaining her equilibrium and sitting up straight again. "Whew! Okay, so, team name! We still need one for you guys!"

Caitlin took a sip from her drink and shook her head amusedly. "Blink, what the hell would you call a… a collection of renegade Hydra assassin models?"

"Combat, not assassin," Rebecca interjected primly, recovering from her earlier embarrassment.

"You say tomato, I say assassin," Caitlin snorted inelegantly.

"Wait, that's it!" Blink shouted triumphantly as she pumped a fist in the air, startling the other patrons nearby.

"We are _not_ calling ourselves assassins," Rebecca warned.

"Of course not," the purple-haired girl grinned, looking around the table. "Renegades! That's what you guys are, the Renegades!"

Rebecca sighed. "I still find the entire exercise unnecessary."

"But bloody brill," Abby interjected.

"Yep, gotta go with brill, myself," Caitlin grinned.

The redhead rolled her eyes, unable to keep the soft smile from her lips. "What am I to do with the two of you?" she murmured affectionately.

Any reply from the other two was overridden by the sound of a window-rattling explosion from across the street. All of the assembled girls whipped their heads around, searching for the cause of the disturbance.

"Was that the bloody bank across the street there?" Abby asked.

"I think so…" Kitty said slowly. "Oh! Yeah, look over in the alleyway, came from there!"

A grinning Caitlin rose to her feet, looking at the others expectantly.

"Caitlin, we are not intervening," Rebecca warned. "We should let the authorities handle things."

"Now where's the fun in that? C'mon, Team Renegade and associated sidekicks, let's get 'em!"

"Sidekick, my ass,' Kitty snorted as she rose as well.

Blink looked at her plate mournfully as she rose with the rest of them. "I didn't get to finish my burger," she whined.

"It'll be here when we get back, luv," Abby reminded her. She glanced up to see the waitress approaching. "Oi, we're gonna go take care of those buggers, be right back, yeah?"

"Not without paying first," the woman stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Caitlin snickered. "Fair enough." She pulled a wad of bills out and dropped them on the table. "Be back for our change. Oh, and don't clear the plates away, okay?"

As they exited the cafe, the brunette girl glanced over at her sister. "Got my back, Becca?"

"Always, Caitlin," the redhead replied with a small smile. "Abby?"

"Ready for a scrap," the blonde affirmed. "Let's do this."

The five crossed the street, weaving in and out of the traffic that had come to a standstill. They entered the alleyway, Caitlin and Rebecca in front as the strongest hand-to-hand fighters, with the others following closely.

They came to a stop halfway down when they spied the gaping hole in the side of the building where the smoke was issuing from.

"Hellooo bad guys," Caitlin called out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"You really need to work on this superhero thing," Kitty snarked.

"Hey, it's more effective than you realize," Caitlin shot back. She grinned as a masked and robed man exited from the hole, clutching a large bag in his hand. "See? Guaranteed results."

"Run along now, little girls," the figure barked out imperiously. "You tangle with the mighty Electro, and you will be burned!"

"Oh, lovely," Abby sighed. "We got a right barmy one, here."

Several more bags floated out from behind him on their own accord, slowly making their way into the back of a van parked at the end of the alley. He released the bag he was holding to allow it to float away as well.

"Well, not a fraud, anyway," Blink commented. "Definitely got something going on there. Telekinesis?"

"I'm thinking more like magic," Caitlin growled.

"How can you tell for sure?"

"I can smell it," the tracker replied, wrinkling her pert nose. "He reeks of it."

"I warned you," the man spoke again. He waved his hands in front of him and bright bolts of electricity shot out, arcing towards the five girls. They scattered, easily dodging the few that were sent their way.

"How very Emperor Palatine," Caitlin smirked as she regained her feet and began moving forward cautiously.

"Not very accurate, though," Kitty said, walking just behind the brunette and her redheaded sister as the trio advanced. She kept her hands poised over their bodies to grab and phase them if another attack was forthcoming.

"I got the next bolt he sends," Blink proclaimed. Abby held back by her side, eyes roaming about for any accomplices or other tricks up the masked man's sleeves.

With a snarl, the man shot his hands forward again. Blink was ready this time, and popped a portal up in front of him, intending to pop another one overhead to direct the blast back on top of the villain.

It didn't quite work out that way, however.

Whether it was the electricity itself, or the magical properties of such, or perhaps the fact that this attack was far stronger than the last, the crackling energy played across Blink's portal, tearing it from her control and interacting with it in a way she'd never experienced before. The lightning flickered around the edges instead of going through it at all, and then the opposite side facing the girls suddenly swirled a brilliant orange color. A roaring sound began to issue from it.

Rebecca and the two brunettes froze in their tracks. "Blink?" Caitlin shouted over her shoulder.

"I'm not doing that!" she shouted back, panic lacing her words. "I can't control it!"

The wind immediately began to pick up around them as small debris was sucked into the portal. Kitty made a grab for the two girls in front of her, but they had both already dropped to the ground to better resist the pull.

Unfortunately, a trash can came rolling past, clipping Rebecca on the shoulder and causing her to stumble. Within an instant, she was airborne and disappeared through without a sound.

"Becca!" her brunette sister screamed, lunging to her feet. The others were unable to tell if she was sucked in or voluntarily threw herself into the portal, but in the blink of an eye, she was gone as well.

Kitty was caught flat-footed, still reaching out to the siblings, and ended up tumbling onto her face. The wind quickly picked her up as she bounced off of the ground and flung her through next.

"Abby!" the purple-haired girl screamed, terrified.

Her blonde friend grabbed hold of her around the waist from behind. "Hang tight, luv, I'll get us-"

She was cut off as the portal suddenly pulsed one last time in a surge of energy, sucking the pair of them in before they could escape. And then it imploded, dissipating into nothingness and leaving a very perplexed Electro sitting on his rear, moneybags spilling their contents all over the alleyway.

"Well," he finally said, slightly dumbstruck. "That was unusual."

Abby wasn't sure how long she'd been inside the rogue portal. She was fairly certain, after having been through one of Blink's portals before, that it was not supposed to take this long to exit. But the mutant girl hadn't had the chance to throw up another portal before the first had gone haywire, so she had no idea really where she was going to end up.

The blonde girl kept her eyes screwed up tightly as the dizzying kaleidoscope of colors hurt her head to look at. She was cognizant of only two things. First, she had wound her arms tightly around her purple-haired friend's midsection, tucking her head down into the crook of her neck, and was not about to let go for anything.

And secondly, she hoped beyond all measure that the others who went before her were okay.

Eventually, there was a popping sound and her ears rang from the shift in pressure. She felt gravity take over again and fell to the ground with a grunt.

Arms still clutched around Blink, the blonde girl took several deep breaths. "Blink?" she whispered fearfully. "You all right, luv?"

The purple-haired mutant squirmed slightly under her. "Ow," she groaned painfully.

Encouraged, Abby peeled open her eyes to see where they had ended up. Once she got a good look, she shot to an upright position, staring about incredulously.

"Abby?" the other girl moaned, rolling over onto her back. "What is it?"

"See for yourself, girl," Abby breathed. "The world's gone right mad, it has."

Blink sat up as well and joined her friend in gaping at the tableau where they'd been deposited.

The landscape looked like it might have, at one time or another, been a metropolitan city. It was unclear whether or not it was actually still New York City, as it was currently unrecognizable. To all outward appearances, it looked as if a herd of giants had stomped the buildings into rubble, and then jumped up and down on top of the piles for good measure. The sky was the color of a television tuned to a dead channel, leaving the landscape bleak and colorless.

Blink's hand gripped Abby's arm as she glanced over their shoulders. "Look," she whispered in a combination of awe and terror.

Cruising along the horizon where Blink had indicated were several alien-looking ships, probing the shadows with stabbing beams of lights as if in a search pattern.

"Bugger me sideways," Abby whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I really hope you had a chance to read the other stories as indicated up in the top author's note. If not, well, I've hopefully given you enough info to go off of concerning the Brown sisters, and I'll try not to assume familiarity. Also, just to warn ahead of time, I'm going to be tossing in the occasional femslash (with lemon warnings) as well as describe same-sex relationships. Anyone who's read my stories knows I like to include them alongside traditional hetero couples. If love between two consenting (though fictional) people disturbs you, that's your choice. But love is love, and that's all I'm gonna say about it.
> 
> And yes, the bit about the television tuned to a dead channel is a direct tribute to one of my favorite authors, William Gibson.
> 
> One last note, as I've mentioned in the Prologue story leading up to this one, I am not of British origin. I've gotten more comfortable speaking in Abby's voice, but I do apologize if I tend to get a little heavy-handed with the slang. If it helps, when you read her lines just imagine Hermione speaking in your heads, that's how I envision it.
> 
> Well, much appreciation for the reads. Hugs to my faithful Beta, **KellyConnely** , and please do let me know what you think!
> 
> Stay shiny!


	2. Chapter 2

Unknown Location

Blink pulled on Abby's arm, dragging her along behind the concealing rubble. She knew she was leaving an easily followed trail of blood, currently leaking from her unconscious friend no matter how well she'd tried to staunch the flow, but it couldn't be helped. They had to get out of there.

The purple-haired mutant stilled suddenly, thinking she heard a noise. The expected pursuit had yet to emerge, but if there was one thing they'd learned so far in this strange landscape it was that the enemy was always around. And they never seemed to really give up.

"C'mon, Abby," she moaned, beginning to drag the blonde girl again. "We're almost there, just a little further…" She turned her head to look at their destination, a large tumble of collapsed buildings that might provide some respite. Her shoulders shot stabbing pain across her back, protesting at the abuse they'd received, but she pushed it to the recesses of her mind.

She had to get Abby to safety, no matter what.

Turning back towards her friend, she froze once more. This time she really did hear something, a scrape of metal against stone.

And then an articulated robotic hand curled around the edge of the rubble protecting them, followed by the grinning death's head visage of one of the alien's android warriors.

"Oh, no," Blink whimpered.

* * *

Two Hours Earlier

"This isn't happening," Blink murmured in disbelief, trudging alongside her best friend.

"Blink…"

"This isn't happening," she repeated, clutching at her head.

"It is, luv," Abby said gently, her eyes roving about and other senses on high alert. "We're in a bloody apocalyptic landscape. Running from aliens, no less." The blonde snorted softly. "I'm just assuming that last bit, not like we've seen hide nor hair of the buggers…"

"No no no…" the purple-haired girl moaned. "This is all my fault, my powers, I couldn't control them…"

"It's not your fault, you daft girl," Abby sighed patiently. "You saw what that arse did, he sent… something… at it, some sort of electricity, right? And so it went… wonky…" The blonde girl halted as the gears spun in her head. "And that's all we'd need to do," she mused thoughtfully.

Blink ducked her head to peer into her friend's pale green eyes. "Do what, Abby?"

"To reverse it, we'd just need to do the same thing, right? Shock it somehow…"

"Um, I dunno…" Blink said hesitantly. "It didn't work so great before…"

"Well, it's all a moot point right now anyway," Abby grumbled as she started walking again, pulling Blink along with her arm around her waist. She leaned her head on the other girl's shoulder as she was a full six inches taller than the blonde. "C'mon, then, we find the others and we'll be golden."

"But what about-"

"Sshh!" Abby hissed suddenly, gripping Blink tight and bringing them to a halt. She stood with her head cocked to the side and slowly separated herself from the purplette girl, staring off blankly into the distance.

Blink looked about nervously, her fists clenched and ready to drop into a combat stance. She'd never actually fought next to Abby before, well aside from their disastrous earlier attempt in the alleyway that led them to this bleak place, but she was an X-Man. She could handle this.

She hoped.

Abby's head whipped around to stare at a demolished building that looked much like any other, but still she didn't move.

"Abby?"

"Cor, I wish I had Caitlin's nose…" the blonde murmured quietly. "I think… yeah, I think we got some buggers nearby, I keep hearing… metal? I think?"

There was a glint of something in the dim light as movement appeared at the corner of the rubble pile, and the pair of girls quickly dropped to the ground behind a large piece of concrete sprouting several rebar spikes like a giant amoeba. Two pairs of green irises, one pale and the other bright, peered around to see what the approaching figures would evolve into.

"I see… four figures," Abby breathed. "Three look like bots of some sort, I think… And the fourth, not human, I can gen that much… but what…"

Blink grasped the blonde's forearm as the fourth figure came into view. "Abby," she whispered harshly. "That's a Chitauri!"

"A what now?"

"The Chitauri, the ones who invaded New York and got themselves beaten by the Avengers!"

"Ooohhh," Abby sighed. "Those buggers."

"Yeah, so what the hell are they doing here?"

"We don't even know where here _is_ , luv."

"Oh, God," Blink murmured. "Did… Are we on another planet or something?"

"Assume not, since we can breathe. What are the chances of another world having the same air as ours?"

"Okay, pretty remote, that's true, but-"

Abby's hand shot out to clamp down over Blink's mouth, the latter widening her eyes in alarm. The diminutive blonde didn't say anything, just held her finger to her lips and pointed towards where they'd seen the alien group last, then making walking motions with her fingers indicating that they were approaching around the right.

The purple-haired girl nodded quickly and began to ease herself back in the opposite direction once Abby removed her hand. She turned and slowly slid around the concrete but then froze at the sight before her.

Back where the four had been spotted originally, one of the android-looking figures was still standing, stock-still. It had a skeletal, metallic humanoid shape with glowing red eyes and a grinning skull face, something straight out of a sci-fi horror movie.

And it was staring right at her.

"Oh, shit," Blink squeaked as the android brought what suspiciously looked like a rifle to its shoulder.

Before she could even react, the young mutant was suddenly airborne, flying across the ground at a dizzying pace. Her progress was halted around the corner of the smaller building they had been heading towards, and she belatedly realized that Abby had snatched her up and carried her bridal-style across the clearing. Bright flashes of light and small explosions had followed them across as they took fire from both directions.

Abby dropped her friend to the ground, breathing heavily. "Whew," she panted. "Not so easy carryin' someone, now is it?"

"What do we do now?" Blink asked, getting back to her feet and looking about for something, anything, that might serve as a weapon.

"Now, you get ready to leg it," Abby said with a tight grin.

"What-"

And with that the blond girl was gone again, streaking back the way they'd come. She picked up a piece of rebar as she ran, weaving in an erratic path to throw off the aim of their enemy. She spun around the lone android, swinging the rebar like a cricket bat, and dented the side of its head. Sparks showered her as the metal figure collapsed to the side.

"Not so tough, are you now?" Abby laughed, picking up the rebar again from where it had fallen after being jarred from her grasp.

Her confidence was rewarded by a searing pain in her left shoulder as the other attackers quickly found their range.

Blink screamed frantically as she helplessly watched her friend stumble and fall to the ground.

"Abby!"

She saw the blonde roll into cover, grimacing painfully as she clutched her wounded shoulder. Even from there Blink could see the blood welling up between her fingers.

Abby looked straight at her and mouthed a single word.

"Run."

She was frozen with indecision. Blink couldn't leave her friend, her best friend, the one girl that she felt closer to than anyone. She had no family of her own, just friends. And she would do whatever it took to save this one.

Even if she had to rely on the powers that she was so reluctant to trust again.

Snarling to herself at her hesitation, Blink pushed up off of the rubble and began to run towards Abby.

She could do this. She was an X-Man.

Shots from the approaching trio of androids and alien converged on Abby's cover, slowly chipping away at it as they advanced at a run.

Perfect.

She waited until the three of them had to hop over a long piece of pipe until she popped her portal directly in their path. The other one, she tossed high up into the air.

The Chitauri, it seemed, could actually scream in terror.

Blink waited until she heard the satisfying combination of twin metallic crashes and one meaty splat before jogging over toward Abby.

"Oh, no…" the mutant breathed, looking her friend over when she got to her.

The wound looked horrific. Much of the flesh had been burnt away, seared right down to the bone, but not enough to cauterize it. Blood continued to leak from in between Abby's fingers as she painfully clutched at her shoulder, vainly trying to stem the flow. Tears streamed down her cheeks revealing the extreme torment she was in.

"Abby, come on, we've gotta get you to shelter!" Blink pleaded, reaching out to her friend.

It was then that she noticed not all of the shots had been blocked by her cover.

Burn marks covered Abby's arms and legs, her bright red leggings blackened and dirty. The blond girl's favorite grey hoodie jacket was in tatters as well, hanging half off of her body.

"Told you… to run… you daft girl…" Abby panted out, her eyes clouded in agony.

"Oh, shit, Abby! Can you… can you shift? Um, transform, whatever?"

"No luv, energy's all used up… doesn't work... that way for me…" The blonde's eyes sagged shut. "You… run along… now…"

"No," Blink growled, dashing away her own tears. "No _fucking_ way am I leaving you behind, you hear me? Abby?"

There was no response as the other girl's right hand fell limply away from holding her shoulder wound.

"Shit!" the purple-haired mutant exclaimed. "Shit shit shit!" She sat back on her heels, noting that while Abby's breathing was weak, it was still steady. She threw in one last "Shit!" for good measure, and then took a deep, calming breath. "Okay. Wrap the wound first."

She carefully pulled the blonde's jacket off of her and used the remains to bind up the ruined shoulder. She thought it a bleak portent that Abby didn't stir at all during the process.

Once that was done, she looked about for the bodies of their fallen enemies. The androids' weapons were useless to her as they seemed to be powered by their internal energy through some conduit in their hands. The long Chitauri rifle, however, would serve her nicely.

Blink slung the alien weapon over her shoulder, careful not to jostle the trigger mechanism as she had no idea how to safe the gun. She briefly considered making some sort of litter out of the other weapons but decided that might be too dangerous a material to use if they were to be bumping along the road without any idea of how they worked. With her luck, they could contain some sort of explosive.

Instead, she tried to heft Abby across her shoulders to begin her trek back towards the large building that they had hoped to shelter in.

She lasted only four steps before collapsing to her knees.

"Damn, you're pretty heavy for such a small girl," Blink chuckled mirthlessly, easing her load to the ground. She sighed, wishing she were older and more developed, or that she'd been able to actually advance in her weight-training regimen, or that her power involved telekinesis like Jean Grey, or, for that matter as long as she were wishing, that this was all a bad dream and she would greatly like to wake up now, thank you very much.

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly.

She could do this.

Blink opened her eyes again and picked up Abby's right hand, cleaning the blood off onto her own jeans. Then she pulled her brown jacket off, sliding Abby's right arm into it and, with some difficulty, securing it around her torso. She dimly noted that the blonde girl was paler than usual and cool to the touch.

"You're stronger than this, Abby," she murmured brokenly. "You hang in there, okay?"

Once the jacket was secure around Abby's waist, she began walking backwards, pulling by the right arm jacket sleeve and dragging the blonde behind her on the ground.

They made their way slowly across the stark clearing, Blink trying to shuffle rocks and the like out of the way so that Abby wouldn't get snagged on them. It took her a half hour to make it to the first small ruins and she rested there briefly, desperately wishing for some sort of nourishment. Though any water she came across would likely be suspect.

Then they were moving again, the purple-haired girl painfully yet determinedly dragging Abby along and in between what cover they could find towards the ruined buildings in the distance. Four times Blink halted their progress and pulled Abby into cover with her as a patrol appeared on the horizon. It was only a matter of time before the one they'd run into was noticed to be overdue and someone came to investigate.

She really, really needed to be gone well before then.

"C'mon, Abby," she moaned, beginning to drag the blonde girl again. "We're almost there, just a little further…" She turned her head to look at their destination, a large tumble of collapsed buildings that might provide some respite. Her shoulders shot stabbing pain across her back, protesting at the abuse they'd received, but she pushed it to the recesses of her mind.

And then an articulated robotic hand curled around the edge of the rubble protecting them, followed by the grinning death's head visage of one of the alien's android warriors.

"Oh, no," Blink whimpered.

The other robotic arm holding its weapon was clearing the edge now, and Blink didn't have any more time to think, just to react. She dropped Abby's arm and crouched protectively in front of her friend while she fumbled the captured rifle around. Just as the android lined up for a shot, Blink sent her own off wildly.

It completely missed her target, instead clipping the rubble nearby and sending a chunk of concrete into its weapon arm, throwing off its aim.

The shot seared just over Blink's head, the heat from the energy weapon causing sweat to bead on her brow. She quickly corrected her aim and sent a pair of shots into its face, demolishing the skeletal head before it could fire again.

Blink breathed a sigh of relief as the android toppled backwards but it was short-lived as the sound of more enemy approached.

"Fine," she gritted out resignedly, glancing back at her prone friend. "Good a place as any for a last stand."

"Psst!"

Blink's eyes shot off to the side where a small figure was waving frantically at her from only a few feet away. "This way! Hurry!" the child beckoned.

She knew she should be suspicious of a miraculous rescue, but at this point, Blink was willing to just thank providence for the timely intervention. And so long as Abby was safe, that was all that mattered.

The purple-haired girl shouldered the rifle again and with a renewed surge of energy began to hurriedly drag Abby towards the child. Once she got close she could tell it was a little raven-haired girl, maybe six or seven, dressed in tattered shorts and shirt of a neutral color, and she was holding open a grate set into the side of the ruined building.

"Hurry!" she urged again.

Not needing any further encouragement as the approaching metallic footsteps were growing ever louder, Blink flung Abby ahead of her and into the opening, following her friend not a second later.

The child flung the grate down and motioned for her to move further back. The passageway they found themselves in was dim and cramped, low enough that Blink couldn't stand upright. Crouched over, she crab-walked her way back, dragging Abby again along with her.

The child finally decided they'd moved far enough in and hit a crude lever, sending a large concrete block crashing down to seal the entryway.

Then the little girl scurried over Abby's still form and under Blink's legs. "This way!" she urged, scuttling down the passageway ahead of them.

"Yeah, no problem, kid," Blink sighed wearily. "I got this, no need to help…"

She promised her aching muscles that as soon as she was able to, she would treat them to a nice hot shower, maybe even a massage. They protested back that the likelihood of making good on that promise anytime soon was close to nil, but she forged ahead anyway.

The only sound to reach Blink's ears were her own labored breathing and the sound of Abby's still-unconscious body being dragged along behind her. She stopped every so often to check on her friend, noting that while she wasn't improving any, at least she hadn't worsened during the ordeal. Fortunately, the tunnel would slope downwards at spots, making the going slightly easier.

Finally, around one of many twists and turns in the passageway, she spied the end. Blink let out a sob of relief, her back screaming in agony by now from being hunched over for so long.

The drop over the edge was higher than she expected, but she didn't relinquish her grip on Abby's arm. The two of them tumbled to the floor and Blink lay there on her back, gasping for air.

Soon her vision was filled with faces, as well as guns, staring down at her.

"Um, hello," she said weakly.

"Who are you, kid?" one of them barked.

"My name's Blink," she replied craning her head to look for Abby. "Please, my friend's hurt really badly, can you help her?"

"First things first," another growled suspiciously. "Resistance or Collaborators?"

Blink stared up at them blankly. "Pardon?"

"Don't fuck with us on this, kid. C'mon, who you with, Resistance or Collaborators?"

"Neither? Look, we don't know how we got here, or…" She trailed off as she realized that their story might come off as just a tad bit suspicious, if not delusional. Sent through a malfunctioning portal to wherever this place was? Yeah, lock these two up, boys.

"Commander," one of the voices called out, this one a female. "Look at this!"

The man who spoke to her first withdrew from her sight but the others kept their guns trained on Blink's face. She slowly turned her head to see what they were so interested in.

A woman, garbed in grubby dark paramilitary clothing like the others and clutching what seemed to be a submachine gun, was holding Abby's face up to the light.

"Please, be careful with her!" Blink pleaded. "Her shoulder's hurt, badly!"

The man, presumably the commander, ignored her words and instead leaned forward curiously. He reached out and peeled an eyelid back to reveal Abby's pale green iris, slightly rolled back up in her head.

He sat back again with a hiss of surprise.

"I'm not just imagining this, right?" the woman asked, shooting furtive glances back at Blink.

"Fucking hell," the commander breathed, stunned.

"So what do we do?" another of the men asked.

The commander shook his head. "We contact HQ, that's what. Get these two cleaned up and taken care of, but leave 'em under guard, alright?"

He rose to his feet and motioned for the other three men to back away from Blink. Then he turned to face the only doorway into the room. "Mouse! Get back in here!"

The raven-haired girl from earlier poked her head back in. "Yessir!" she said, her small voice seemingly incongruous with her deference.

"Tell 'im to prep the infirmary, and then get back here to walk them over. We'll need a stretcher, too."

"We've got one of those around the corner," the woman stated. "From the last time."

"Right, hop to it then. I'll be back in a couple days, hold down the fort, Dani."

"You got it, boss." The woman, Dani, turned back to face Blink as the commander left. Her eyes were the color of warm chocolate, and her mouth turned up into a brief smile as if it were unused to such an action. "You can get up now, kid."

"Actually, I'm pretty good down here for now," Blink sighed wearily. "Okay if I just chill on the floor until we're ready to leave?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Dani chuckled. She crouched down as the three other men stood back respectfully. "Like the Commander said, I'm Dani, his second-in-command. His name, by the by, is Mac. Or Big Mac, if you're friends with him. These guys over here," she jerked her head to indicate the others, "...are Alec, Davis, and Snot."

Blink widened her eyes at the last name, gazing over at the rail-thin man with crew-cut brown hair and a face scarred by childhood acne. "Snot? Seriously?"

The skinny man shrugged good-naturedly. "Adolescent nickname. It stuck."

She smiled and nodded towards the other two in greeting. Alec was a burly man who might have been home chopping down trees in the wilderness, with a bushy black beard and a weathered green flannel shirt instead of the combat jackets the others wore. Davis had a shock of red hair cropped short that was briefly visible as he pulled his cap off to wipe his brow with it. All three carried assault rifles with the competence that comes from years of active use.

"So…" Blink began uncertainly. "Where exactly are we?"

"Underground," Alec answered her in a rumbling baritone.

She quirked her eyebrow at him in response, which made Snot chuckle. "Don't take it personally, kid. Alec here could teach a rock to be laconic."

Dani eased herself down into a cross-legged seat. "Where we are, is about a hundred feet up and just outside outpost eighteen of the Resistance." She sent the purple-haired girl a sharp look. "Really hope we're not screwing ourselves in trusting you, but with… well…" She glanced back over at Abby's still form, her brow furrowed.

"Why did you guys react that way towards… my friend?" Blink caught herself at the last minute in order to withhold Abby's name. She still wasn't sure what was going on or why they acted the way they did and figured until Abby herself was awake to consult with, she'd play her cards as close to the chest as she could.

The pixie-haired brunette woman sighed and shook her head. "Let's not go into that just yet, okay? So, can you tell me where you're from?"

"I'm… not sure if I can. I mean… I don't really know where 'here' even is."

"Technically?" Davis replied, his voice gravelly like a six-pack-a-day smoker. "I suppose this'd be the Big Apple still, right?"

Snot nodded casually. "Yeah, this was right on the outskirts."

"The Big…" Blink sucked in a shocked breath. "Do… you mean… New York City?"

"Well, yeah," Davis frowned. "Where else?"

Blink closed her eyes, the shock of it all overwhelming her.

They hadn't traveled far in distance, it would seem.

Just in time.

Somehow, this dystopian world represented their future. How far into the future was up for guessing, but she wasn't about to ask something stupid like what the year was. That was far too cliche and in the movies, it never seemed to elicit the adverse reaction or suspicion that it should warrant in reality.

"So," Dani said quietly, intruding on her thoughts. "I'm guessing you're not from anywhere around here."

Blink shook her head wordlessly, her eyes still closed.

"They're ready for you," the small voice of Mouse rang out from the doorway.

The purple-haired mutant opened her eyes again as she rolled to her feet, groaning in pain. "Ohh, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay still," she wheezed as she leaned up against the wall. She shook her head, irritated at herself for showing weakness around these strangers and went to kneel next to her friend. Her back screamed at her with the movement, but she pushed it aside once again.

She pushed Abby's bangs to the side and cupped her friend's cheek, smiling. "Hang in there," she whispered as Davis and Alec laid a crude stretcher next to her prone form. "We'll get you taken care of, I promise."

They gently moved Abby over onto the stretcher and then the group of them were off, Mouse leading the way and Blink walking next to Dani. Snot brought up the rear behind the stretcher.

The tunnel they walked through was a combination of hewed stone and manufactured concrete. In some places, it tilted slightly as if the building it was a part of was off-kilter, and then in other places, it sloped downwards sharply. The group ended up taking one long staircase that seemed to have at one time been an escalator. Blink peered about her as they walked, and would occasionally pick up on the remains of signs that indicated what had been there previously.

"So, this Resistance," Blink said cautiously. "It's against the Chitauri, right?"

"Fuckin' aliens," Mouse muttered, much to Blink's shock. The others, however, didn't bat an eye.

"Yeah, that's right," Dani affirmed calmly.

"Then these, um, Collaborators, they… work with the aliens?"

"Fuckin' traitors," Mouse muttered again.

"They like to call themselves Loyalists," Dani said, her voice a bit tighter. "Since the government was taken over and all, they say they're only doing what's legal."

Mouse was muttering under her breath now, but what little Blink picked up on consisted of vicious swearing.

"Most of us Resistance folk you meet, we've run on their bad side one way or another," Dani continued, staring ahead grimly. "Some worse than others." She glanced down at Mouse, and for a brief instant, her face softened before she looked away again.

"I… see." Blink shook her head. She'd always been a fan of history, and the parallels to the American Civil War were there, plain to see. A country divided emphatically.

She let out a thoughtful grunt as she realized her error. No, not the Civil War so much as the American Revolutionary War, families just as split, but between the Loyalists of a puppet government and Revolutionaries…

"They killed my ma and pa," Mouse spoke up softly, causing Blink to jump slightly. She hadn't even noticed that the little girl had stopped her mutterings.

"I'm sorry," Blink whispered.

Mouse trudged along for a few more steps in silence. "Fuckin' aliens," she finally muttered again.

Blink closed her eyes briefly, willing the tears to stay where they were. "I lost my parents, too," she murmured quietly. "When I was really young."

Mouse looked over at her and nodded. "Yeah, I could tell. Your friend there, she's your family now, right?"

The purplette girl was startled at the small girl's perception. "Um, yeah, she's my best friend. So I guess she is, along with… well, other friends that we kinda lost."

"You lost your friends?"

"Yeah, we all got separated by… well, a big explosion. I don't even know if they're alive or not." Blink sighed, glancing back over her shoulder worriedly at Abby's diminutive body. "I can't lose her too," she whispered.

"Don't worry, pretty purple lady, we got good doctors here," Mouse said seriously. "Doc Reyes is the best, an' she's gonna be the one to look at your friend."

"Thanks, Mouse," she replied with a soft smile. "My name's Blink, by the way."

"Okies, pretty purple lady," Mouse replied.

Dani snorted lightly. "You're in trouble now, once Mouse makes a friend of you there's no keeping her away."

"Some people like my company," Mouse said loftily, her nose in the air, and drawing rough chuckles from the three men.

Finally, they reached the end of their journey, the remains of what looked to be a subway station. Three of the four tunnel entrances were blocked by rubble, while the other was gated off with what looked to be a barricade. As they entered the cavernous area, Blink spotted Commander Mac and a small group of men heading through the gate before it was sealed back behind him.

A wizened, dark-skinned old lady in a worn lab coat greeted them next to what looked to be a converted subway car. "Alright, bring her on in," she said brusquely. She stopped next to Blink, peering up at her. "Do I know you?"

"Um, no ma'am?" Blink replied uncertainly. "Not that I know of?"

"Hmm," she grunted, adjusting the glasses on her nose. "Very well, let's head in."

Blink followed them in, Mouse at her side. Both Dani and Snot remained outside to guard the makeshift hospital, and once Abby was deposited into a bed that looked to have been a door at some point, now heavily lacquered and laid across several short filing cabinets, Alec left as well. Davis took a seat back towards the entrance of the rear operation area where he could observe them, stripping down his rifle for cleaning while he waited.

Reyes removed the rudimentary bandage carefully, and Blink winced once again as she saw the damage. "Can you… can you help her?" she asked fearfully.

The old woman shook her head as she began to remove the rest of Abby's clothes with a pair of shiny surgical scissors, revealing a plethora of burns and bloody cuts. "Honey, I don't even know how this little thing is still alive. I've seen grown men drop dead from shock at far less."

"She's tough, though," Blink murmured, unaware of the tears flowing down her cheeks past her purple markings. "She's really tough and strong… and... "

She started as a small hand slipped into her own, squeezing slightly. Mouse looked up at her solemnly. "It'll be okies," she said earnestly.

"I just… I can't lose her…" She wasn't sure why she was shaking so badly. The room seemed to go out of focus as her vision darkened at the edges and her breath became quick and shallow. "Please, please help her…"

And with that, the young mutant's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she collapsed backwards. Davis was there in a flash to catch her and lower her to the ground.

"She's had a rough time of it," Mouse informed the others seriously.

* * *

Blink opened her eyes slowly, feeling slightly light-headed. The ceiling above her was painted a light grey, and there was a single bare lightbulb burning brightly in the middle. She squinted against the harsh light, wondering where she was.

The purple-haired girl sucked in a sharp breath as she remembered everything that had happened, and she took a quick second to inventory her current situation.

For starters, she was naked, though there was a sheet over her. And she seemed to be in a bed of some sort. There was also an odd prickling sensation in her left arm.

She began to move her head to see what was wrong with that arm when she froze at the sound of a light chuckle.

"Hiya, was wondering if you would ever wake up," a familiar voice said wearily.

Blink turned her head the rest of the way to spy Abby lying on another bed next to her. She was partially sitting up against a mound of pillows, and her shoulder was heavily swathed in stark white bandages.

Blink had never seen anything as glorious as that pair of malachite eyes in all her life.

"Abby?" she breathed incredulously.

"In the flesh, luv. Just needed a quick kip and I'm all better. Well," the blonde amended with a shrug of her good shoulder. "That, and apparently a bloody long round of surgery."

"Pretty purple lady is awake!" a small voice cheered.

"All right, Mouse?" Abby grinned towards the door.

"Hi, Abby!" Mouse replied as she skipped into the room. With casual familiarity, she dragged a stool over from the wall to perch on it between the two beds. "Doc's on the way. Feelin' better?"

"Right as rain," Abby chuckled. She glanced over at Blink. "How 'bout you, luv?"

Blink smiled at her happily. "Better, now."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Flatterer."

Doc Reyes made her entrance then, nodding in satisfaction as she saw Blink's awake state. "Good, you're both awake. I can take you off of the fluids, Blink, but you will need more still, Abby."

"Yeah, I'm still a bit knackered," the blonde replied. "How much blood have you given me so far?"

"Three units," Reyes replied distractedly as she walked around Mouse and began to fiddle with the tube that Blink now realized was sticking out of her. "I'm thinking you'll need one more. And then for your miraculous cure, eh?" She said the last humorously, almost patronizingly.

"Right you are," Abby said, giving Blink a wink.

Blink nodded back with a smile. So she hadn't revealed all of her abilities yet, which was probably wise. Once she had enough energy stored up to transform, she should be able to fully heal, and then they could be on their way again to look for the others.

She knew from earlier conversations that Abby and Caitlin's transformations worked somewhat differently. As much as Abby's bursts of speed consumed energy, changing into a cheetah took even more so. In Caitlin's case, however, she didn't consume any energy whatsoever, in fact, it seemed to energize her. Neither girl understood the reasoning behind it, but Rebecca theorized that perhaps Caitlin's status as a prototype was to blame for that.

At least Abby did have a naturally accelerated ability to heal, otherwise, as Reyes had mentioned earlier, she'd likely be dead by now. Blink shuddered to herself, thinking about how close she'd been to losing her best friend.

"Hey," Abby said softly, looking at Blink in concern. "You all right, there?"

Blink nodded, unable to speak past the emotion that was clogging her throat.

"I told you, pretty purple lady," Mouse smiled. "Everything's okies."

At that the dam burst and Blink began to weep uncontrollably, the stress and panic and exertion finally catching up to her. She pulled her unencumbered right hand up to cover her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face as she was wracked with sobs.

She dimly felt the needle being removed from her left arm and a bandage quickly slapped over it. And then the small hand of Mouse slipped into hers, dragging her arm out across the aisle until she felt Abby's warm hand replace it.

She clung to her friend desperately as Abby soothingly rubbed her thumb along her wrist. Nobody said a word as Blink was allowed to let her emotions run out.

Finally, she drew in a deep, shuddering breath, wiping her face with her right hand. "Abby," she whispered hoarsely, looking over at the other bed.

"Yeah?" the blonde replied, her pale green eyes glittering with unshed tears of her own. Both Reyes and Mouse had left the room at some point, and they were once again alone with each other.

"Don't you _ever_ fucking do that to me again, you hear me?"

Abby barked out a quick laugh, which continued into uncontrollable giggling as Blink joined in as well, both of them further releasing their stress through the powerful healing of laughter.

"So," Blink finally sighed as her humor subsided. "What do they know?"

"Bugger all, really. Figured you'd have done the same."

"Yeah, gave them my name, but not yours, and nothing about us." Blink glanced over at the open doorway. "Abby," she murmured almost inaudibly, knowing her friend would be able to hear her just fine with her enhanced hearing.

The blonde nodded, understanding what she was getting at, and held up two fingers, pointing both to the left and right of the doorway.

Blink nodded back and continued to murmur as quietly as possible. "They had a really weird reaction when they saw you. I don't get it. But the Commander, guy named Mac, accepted us in right after like it eased all of his suspicions. Then he took off for their HQ, said he'd be back in a couple days," She stirred as a thought occurred to her. "How long was I out?" she asked in a normal voice.

"Maybe a day? Dunno for sure, but that's the idea I get."

"It doesn't make sense," Blink continued in her inaudible murmur again. "Why they looked at you that way. And one more thing. This is NYC above us."

Abby sucked in a shocked breath. "Really? Then… then that means…"

"Yeah. We're in the future."

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Reyes and Mouse came back in again to switch blood bags for Abby and to bring them a meal, mostly consisting of mushrooms and greens, with crumbles of what Reyes referred to as 'protein' on top. Blink thought it likely to be some sort of dry rations, but she didn't mind the taste overly. The mushrooms, in fact, were delicious. They'd been sauteed in some sort of tangy herbal sauce and went well with the wilted greens.

"You able to grow this kinda stuff down here?" Abby asked curiously as she speared a forkful of the leafy substance.

Reyes nodded calmly as she wrote in her battered notebook. "You'd be surprised what can be grown underground. Meat is a little less plentiful, though. Even the rats are scarce lately."

Blink shuddered slightly at the thought, but in retrospect, she realized that survival took priority over squeamishness.

The four of them glanced over towards the door as Dani walked in. The woman nodded to the room in general. "Got a courier in," she stated. "We have to move out in the morning."

"We?" Blink asked curiously.

"As in, the two of you girls and my squad. We're heading for HQ."

Abby smirked wryly. "Don't suppose this is a request we can skive off of, is it?"

"No," Dani replied, only the hint of a smile showing. "You can't." With that, she turned and walked out again.

"Jolly good, then," Abby snarked, laying her head back.

"Abby, are you going to be able to, um…" Blink hesitated, glancing at the others in the room.

"No, luv, I won't."

"It's okies, they have a trolley they use," Mouse informed them. "Won't even hafta walk far."

"Suppose that'll have to do, then," Abby sighed. She closed her eyes. "Fancy a bit of a kip now, if you'll excuse, please."

"It's night time anyway," Reyes replied, guiding Mouse out by the shoulders. "Sleep well, the both of you." She paused at the door and clicked the light off, closing the door almost all the way. A small shaft of light stabbed into the now-darkened room, illuminating the far wall. Blink decided that, even though she'd been sleeping for so long already, it wouldn't do much to keep her awake.

Still, as she lay back on her pillow she stared at the ceiling, her mind still a confused whirl while trying to catch up with the events of the past couple of days.

"Can't sleep?" Abby whispered, her enhanced hearing picking up on her friend's restlessness.

"I just…" Blink sighed. "We're gonna find the others, right?"

"Too bloody right we will. No worries on that, luv."

"And we'll… get home?"

"Right you are again."

She was quiet for almost a full minute before finally giving voice to her strongest fear. "And you won't leave me again?" she whispered, slightly ashamed over what sounded to her own ears like a petulant child.

Blink could hear Abby shift slightly but couldn't bring herself to look at her.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Blink. That's a promise, all right?"

The purple-haired girl closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

She was fast asleep not even a minute later.

Abby stayed awake for a little bit longer, staring at her friend as if she could memorize her face. She firmly resolved that, no matter what it took, she'd do her best to live up to that promise.

Unless it came down to keeping Blink alive, that is. Then she knew her own life was forfeit.

* * *

The next morning saw them loaded up on what seemed to be a small, electrically-powered platform that rode the rails. Mouse had explained, as she helped load Abby onto the car and get her comfortable, that these cars were used by the old subway maintenance workers to get around quickly. They had a few of the precious vehicles, and it would get them to their destination within a day or so.

Assuming it didn't break down, of course.

The car had raised edges and a small engine protruding out back. There were a couple of crates containing parts and supplies strapped down in the middle where Abby was now propped up against. She was pale and sweating slightly from the exertion of being transferred from their recovery room to their transport.

Blink crouched next to her friend, pulling a wool blanket over her small shoulders. "You gonna be okay, Abby?" she asked concernedly.

"Right as rain, luv," she replied tiredly, pulling a weary smile upon her face. "Don't trouble yourself over me."

Blink snorted softly. "Well, I'm gonna anyways."

"We ready to roll?" Dani asked as she strode up towards the rail car, Davis on her heels.

"All set, ma'am," Snot called out from behind where he stood next to the controls.

Alec, seated in front, simply nodded and grunted tersely.

"Alright then," the woman said, hopping up and taking the right-hand side. She stood opposite of the crates from David, her gun cradled in her arms, and raised her fingers to her lips, letting out a short but sharp whistle.

The guards at the tunnel gate waved back, and the entire walled-off entrance was slowly retracted. The guard there seemed to have been doubled from when Blink saw it last, an obvious precaution from incursion while their refuge was so exposed.

"You two just keep your heads down," Dani called down behind her as the car began to move out.

"I think we can manage that," Blink replied, settling down on the bed of the rail car next to Abby.

For as ancient a piece of machinery as their transportation seemed, it was surprisingly quiet. Evidently, the engine was electrical rather than powered by fossil fuels, which made some sense to Blink. After all, gasoline would be incredibly scarce, but if a battery could be recharged somehow, it would provide almost unlimited uses.

The purple-haired mutant glanced over her shoulder, straining upward to peer over the crates to see the large gates close behind them. And then they were alone in the tunnel, moving at what appeared to be about the same pace as a jog down the tunnel. There was a shaky light perched under the front lip that illuminated Alec's broad outline as he scanned the terrain ahead for danger.

After perhaps five minutes of tense silence, Blink shivered as she realized that her new clothes weren't quite up to the chill of the underground passageway. She had on her jeans once again, the bloodstains washed away, but now wore an olive green thermal shirt and a new dark blue coat which was far thinner than it seemed. Abby was given grey sweatpants and a thermal shirt that matched Blink's, though she had no coat, hence the wool blanket. Both girls were given relatively new boots that fit them well enough.

Abby, of course, picked up on her discomfort immediately and shifted closer, opening up her blanket and wordlessly gesturing her in. Blink gratefully snuggled up next to her, sighing contentedly as her friend's above-average body heat immediately began to warm her under the woolen cover. Abby laid her head back against Blink's shoulder and scooted in closer, letting out a soft happy sigh as well.

"Hey," Blink murmured a few minutes later as something occurred to her.

"Hmm?" Abby replied sleepily.

"So, you told me once that the bond you have with your sisters… you can tell when you're close to each other, right? Can you tell where they are now?"

Abby stirred, putting her thigh right up alongside Blink's, which for some odd reason made her smile slightly.

"Yeah, I can, usually," she finally murmured in replied. "It's all wonky now, though, right? So I can feel them out there, somewhere, but it's like… my direction is all off. Really cheesein' me off, to be perfectly honest."

"Why?"

"Well, it'd be the perfect solution, wouldn't it? If it was working properly, we could pick up at least Caitlin and Becca, and then we'd just have to track down Kitty!" She lowered her voice down to a whisper when speaking the other girls' names, obviously still leaning towards caution with their 'escorts'.

Before they could converse on it further, Alec held up his hand. The car quickly rolled to a stop.

Dani and Davis crept up next to the burly man. "What do you see?" their current leader asked.

"Hole up ahead," he replied gruffly. "Left side."

Blink pulled herself out from the sheltering blanket, crawling up behind them but keeping well enough back. "Is that… bad?"

"It is when it wasn't there before," Davis rasped back. "And yeah, I see it, that's big enough for a droid."

Dani nodded. "Snot, stay with the car and cover us. You girls stay put." The three soldiers hopped down and began to cautiously move forward, their backs illuminated by the sparse light.

The rail-thin man remaining moved forward and crouched, his eyes roaming about nervously.

"I don't like this," Blink murmured as she moved back towards her friend.

Abby shook her head as she unwrapped the blanket from around herself. "Too right. Bleedin' dodgy, this is."

And then everything went to hell.

A shiny metallic figure emerged from the hole, immediately opening fire with its energy weapon. The other three were prepared, however, and gunfire sparked off of its armored torso. Even as the first android fell, another two stepped over it and into the tunnel.

"Back!" Dani screamed at her comrades over the noise of the battle. "Get the fuck back!"

The three began to walk backwards but they were already too exposed. Snot was kneeling and lending fire support of his own, but there were more androids filling into the passage even as the second pair dropped.

Blink was frozen, staring at the dreaded death's head visage of the approaching androids, their eyes glowing evilly in the darkness. And then a scream sounded from directly in front of her as Snot took a hit to his leg, sending him to the floor of the car to writhe in pain as his rifle rolled off and onto the ground. Abby lurched to his side, tossing her blanket over to use as a bandage.

Davis went down next, the redheaded man's neck simply vaporizing from a particularly accurate shot. His decapitated head fell soundlessly to the ground as his corpse toppled to the side.

"No," Blink breathed.

She was not allowing this to happen. She wouldn't let them hurt Abby again, her friend was still too wounded to fight.

But she wasn't. And it was time for her to act like an X-Man and not some sheltered child.

Ignoring Abby's shouted protests, Blink hopped down from the car and began running towards the retreating soldiers. She threw up a portal on either side, directing the fire on the flanks back upon themselves.

Both Dani and Alec turned around in shock to spy the teenaged girl race past them.

"Go!" she shouted, tossing up more portals as she went. She sealed the hole in the side of the tunnel by placing a portal there, and then stopped in her tracks, straining with her power to send the answering portal up just as high as she could. Accuracy wasn't important, she just wanted it up, up high so that the androids still coming in would drop from the sky several hundred feet above ground.

She had just enough time to register a clinking sound and to glance down at her feet at the small silvery object.

"Oh, shit!" Blink yelled, throwing herself backwards. She tossed another portal behind her and the answering one back by the car, but the explosion picked her up and flung her to the side, just missing her escape route.

She lay on her back, dazed and rather shocked that she was still alive. "Concussion grenade," she murmured, her ears ringing. She let all the portals go except for the one covering the hole, and then slowly raised her head.

Four androids remained, advancing menacingly on the prone girl with their metallic visages grinning madly.

Before any of them could fire, four rapid shots rang out. One glowing red eye on each android winked out of existence, and one by one they all collapsed to the ground.

Blink turned her head to see Abby, kneeling on the front of the rail car and holding Alec's rifle as he worked on stabilizing Snot's leg. Her supporting left hand trembled where it struggled to hold the gun upright.

"You bloody daft girl," Abby called out in relief. "What were you thinking?"

"Wasn't, really," she called back as she staggered to her feet, limping past an incredulous-looking Dani.

"Well that much is obvious," the blond smirked.

Within a few minutes, they were loaded up again and headed out. Between the crates and the engine lay Davis' corpse, bundled up in a tarp, and the injured Snot, who was given a tranq to knock him out and wrapped up in Abby's blanket. Dani drove while Alec was back on point again.

Neither of the soldiers remarked on the fight, or on Blink's use of her powers, though she caught them staring at her when they thought she wasn't looking.

"So," Abby said casually, a fresh blanket wrapped around the both of them and now back in their previous position, her head on Blink's shoulder. "Cat's out of the bag, eh?"

"'Friad so," Blink sighed. She figured they were far enough out now and let the remaining portals go. Hopefully, the outpost would be able to hold off any more incursions until the hole could be collapsed. "Didn't see any other way around it, though."

"But why?" the blonde girl asked curiously.

Blink tightened her grip around Abby's shoulders. "Wasn't gonna let anything happen to you," she replied as if the answer should have been obvious.

She was unaware of the soft smile that formed on her lips at the physical contact and was doubly oblivious of the matching expression on Abby's face as they rolled down the tunnel once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, for the Chitauri androids, they are indeed pretty similar to the _Terminator_ machines. Let's just say the Chitauri high command liked the movies and figured, why not use a little psychological warfare upon their enslaved population?
> 
> So this was a huge episode. I'd like for them all to be this length, harkening back to the later ones from my other epic _Nothing In The Verse_ story, but we'll see how much I have to fill them out.
> 
> Also, I'm going to be switching viewpoints as we find out what the others girls have been up to while Abby and Blink have their own adventures.
> 
> Thanks for reading so far! Stay shiny!


	3. Chapter 3

Chitauri Regional Capital, Human Enclave  
(Former City of Philadelphia)

Sara tried not to complain overmuch about her lot in life. It wasn't much of a life, working in her parent's tavern from the time she woke up until her head hit the pillow again, but the twelve-year-old knew she had it better off than most humans. She had a roof over her head and was adequately fed. Wasn't a whole lot else to hope for, really.

Her home, the tavern known just as The Bell for reasons her parents never really went into, was situated just over the large gully that ran through the middle of the human enclave. Her dad used to tell her tales of how, back when he was a kid, water used to run through it. Used to be a whole river, not just a dusty canyon that scavengers constantly scoured for some uncovered treasure like scrap metal. Or better yet, unexploded ordinance, that always fetched a high price whether it be through the thriving black market or to the aliens themselves. Granted, the fatality rates for such extractions were high. She'd lost two of her childhood friends just last year to such an occurrence.

But overall, Sara knew she should be content with her lot in life.

If only days like today were more rare.

It had begun as usual, dragging herself out of bed to get the fires started and water boiling. The erratic water system was corrupted yet again this week, and though the Chitauri-appointed enclave leaders promised they'd get it fixed soon, everyone knew there was no guarantee they would actually have it done quickly this time. So it was back to boiling all the water, every morning and afternoon and evening.

At least this time there were only a handful of deaths from the contamination.

Her parents entered soon afterward, giving her a brief kiss on the top of her head as she struggled to fill the water tanks, her hands wrapped in huge mittens to protect her from the scorchingly hot pots. They took one of them back upstairs to wash up while she switched over to food preparation. They didn't get many people in for breakfast, but it wasn't like their food varied much from meal to meal. And the starters would last them throughout the day, for the most part.

Once her parents returned, Sara hustled upstairs, stripped off her sweaty nightshirt and washed herself with the leftover water, brushed out her dirty-blonde hair, dressed, and then carefully emptied the remnants of the washwater into the cistern back behind the tavern for use in watering their small garden.

Then it was time for her to scrub the common room floor while her mom cleaned off the surfaces and her dad worked in the kitchen. The aromas from there made her mouth water, and soon enough some of their overnight patrons filtered into the room for their first meal.

The stranger was the last one to enter the room, taking their usual seat near the front of the tavern. Sara burned with curiosity about their identity. She assumed it was a woman from the small stature, but she never heard them speak and had been unable to get even a peek under the tattered but thick cloak they wrapped themselves in. Her mom always dealt with them, and she'd been far too nervous to ask her about the stranger.

And then her mother was hustling about, bringing food to the earlier customers, when she said the words that made her face light up with anticipation.

"Sara, honey, you handle that one by the door, okay?"

"Okay, mom!" she replied quickly, scampering off before she could change her mind.

She came to a skidding halt by the stranger's table, causing the darkened hood to tilt slightly to the side as if she were being considered.

"Um, hi. I'm Sara, would… would you like breakfast?"

"Hello Sara," a light and feminine voice replied, humor lacing her words. "I'd like that very much. Does your dad have any of that bacon left?"

"Oh, I think so, ma'am!" There was a pig farmer who brought his produce into the enclave every month or so, but it had been a couple weeks since his last visit. However, not many had the taste for the salty food, so it often lasted until his next visit. "Anything else, if he doesn't?"

The folds of the cloak fell away slightly as a small hand snuck out to wave aimlessly. "Whatever else he might have available, long as it has meat."

"Okay, be right back, ma'am!"

Sara scurried off to consult with her dad, who did indeed have some of the pork strips left. She turned again to head back and inform the stranger of her good fortune when she stopped in her tracks as the front door opened and a group of burly thugs entered.

"Oh, no," she whispered fearfully.

Her mom, immediately noticing the commotion, quickly strode out to stand in front of her daughter protectively. "Welcome to The Bell," she said hastily, a fake smile plastered on her face. "What can we-"

"We don't need your slop, woman," their leader, a man with a wicked scar from his temple down to his chin snarled. "We're lookin' for dissenters."

"Oh, none of that here, good sir, we're a Loyalist place here, we are," she replied nervously.

Sara's dad had come out now and stood by the kitchen watching the six men spread out across the tavern. His fists clenched and unclenched helplessly at his side.

"Now, that's not what we heard," the leader replied with a smirk, causing Sara's stomach to plummet. It had been six months since the Loyalist bully-boys had smashed the place up last. Whether through sheer boredom or because they actually thought her parents were sheltering rebels didn't matter much to them when they had to put it all back together again.

The other patrons in the tavern stirred anxiously, unwilling to call attention to themselves by either objecting or disappearing. Sara peeked around her mom's skirts to note that the stranger hadn't budged, though her hood indicated she was watching the proceedings with interest.

"Now, I'm not gonna interfere with your work here," the leader said, his voice a little more reasonable, which instantly made Sara suspicious. "Why don't you just go about your affairs while we interview your guests."

Sara almost breathed a sigh of relief. If they thought one of the travelers was a rebel, maybe they wouldn't smash their place up.

Maybe. Unless they didn't find anyone suspicious, and then they returned to boredom.

Her mom nodded rapidly, pushing Sara back behind her. "Very good, sirs," she said, as she headed back towards the kitchen herself.

Sara watched as her parents put their heads together and began to whisper frantically.

"But what can we do?" her mom asked, wringing her hands.

"Not a damn thing," her dad answered harshly. "We carry on, otherwise they'll get suspicious." He turned and grabbed a plate he'd readied with the last of the bacon on it. "Here, Sara take this out."

"No, what if they notice her?"

"They already have, if we keep her in the kitchen it will be worse!" Her father turned anxious eyes to his daughter. "Just act normal, okay, sweetie?"

Sara nodded hesitantly, taking the plate and turning to exit the kitchen.

Normal. Right, she could do normal. Heck, this kinda thing was normal enough for her anyway.

She walked past the men who were roughly interrogating the other patrons, grabbing their arms and pushing the sleeves back before questioning them. Nobody had made it over towards the door yet, or perhaps they hadn't noticed the stranger who was still cloaked and partially hidden by the shadows. She was so still she might almost blend into the wooden walls, which suddenly made her nervous to be bringing the order out. What if she were now noticed, and Sara got her into trouble?

Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the plate gently on the table. "H- Here you go, ma'am," she stuttered.

The hood twitched ever so marginally to the left, and Sara realized she had one of the Loyalist militia behind her now.

"Well, now, maybe today won't be a total loss," the man snickered, moving up close behind her.

"Please, good sir," she heard her mom call out. "Please, she's only twelve-"

"Oh, shut up, woman," he snarled back. "Maybe we should just burn the place down, with you two tied up inside, would you like that?"

Sara closed her eyes and trembled, holding onto the table for support. This wasn't happening, this can't be happening… but it was, it happened all too often, she just never imagined it happening to her…

"Now, you come along with us, girlie, and we'll show you-"

He had started to reach out to clamp his meaty paw over Sara's arm when it was intercepted. The blonde girl's eyes snapped open to see a slim arm in front of her face as the stranger had partially risen from her seat to grab hold of the man's forearm.

Incredibly, though he was a giant of a man like all of the bullies they hired into the militia, he was straining against the slender hand that held him.

"That," a soft voice growled, raising the hackles on the back of Sara's neck, "was a _very_ bad idea."

"What the fuck?" he bellowed, bringing his other arm back to swat away the cloaked figure. Instead, the hand twisted, and the sound of his forearm shattering was like a gunshot to Sara this close. She jumped back, startled, as the man's shouts turned into screams of agony.

Then the mysterious woman's grip shifted and the man was suddenly airborne, crashing onto his back in the middle of the floorspace, clutching his arm and whimpering while the other five gazed on incredulously.

With a resigned sigh, the figure stood up and slipped off her cloak. Sara gaped at the sight of the small girl, not much older than herself, with curly brown hair, worn dark green pants and a dingy shirt that might have been white at one time. She turned towards Sara and gave her a wink with one of her pale green eyes.

"You might wanna take cover," the other girl murmured as she strode by in her bare feet.

Sara complied without hesitation, crawling under the table as the girl stood with her hands on her hips and confronted the remaining five militia.

"Little bitch, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in right now?" the leader growled, puffing up his chest menacingly.

"Gee, I've never been in trouble before, mister," she replied mockingly. "Whatever shall I do?"

Sara gaped at the girl's bravado. She looked so tiny, not much bigger than herself, against the towering men that faced her. She almost closed her eyes, but stubbornly decided to keep watching. This stranger saved her, for the time being anyway, and she deserved Sara's witness, whether for good or ill.

The combatants faced each other, unmoving, as the other patrons beat a hasty retreat, either upstairs or out the front door. Her parents peeked out from the kitchen anxiously.

Finally, the leader snorted in amusement. "Right. Boys, tear this little bitch to shreds. We'll toss the remains out in the street as a warning."

"Wow, that's pretty dark," the girl commented nonchalantly as the five began to close in. "Thanks for removing the kid gloves, though."

And with that she was in motion, spinning through the grasping hands like a leaf drifting on the wind currents. Sara's mouth dropped in awe as she watched the girl twirl in the air, smashing a foot into one of the men's jaw and then backflip to end up in a handstand on top of the leader's shoulders.

The brunette girl was facing Sara at the time, and she had just enough time to see her gleeful grin before her tumble ended, flipping behind the man but keeping her grip on his shoulders. He went over backwards as she threw him up high and then slammed into the floor hard enough that the walls rattled.

She sprang back onto the offense, spinning low to shatter one man's knee with a kick and then, as he began to collapse, her fist shot out and into his throat. The man's eyes bulged as his windpipe collapsed, and he clutched at his ruined neck, vainly trying to breathe again.

The two uninjured men advanced on her with a roar, but she neatly sidestepped them to dash at the man holding his fractured jaw who was rising up again. She slammed her foot into his sternum, causing his eyes to open wide in shock.

If Sara didn't know better, she almost could have sworn she saw the man's entire chest collapse from the impact. But then the man flopped backwards, unmoving, so perhaps she didn't imagine it after all.

The brunette girl twirled back once more and faced the pair again who had reversed course like charging bulls. She intercepted their swings with her forearms, blocking them and neatly turning their attacks. Her leg flew out to the side, buckling the one on the right as his kneecap shattered, and then she pummeled the other with a rapid combination of strikes with her fists. The flurry of hits staggered him backwards, bleeding and bruised until she landed a fierce uppercut that snapped his neck back. He collapsed to the floor, and Sara dimly noted that his head flopped bonelessly on top of his neck.

She turned again towards the one she'd just crippled, as he sat clutching his leg, and nonchalantly twisted his head from behind, snapping his neck with an audible pop.

Sara was shocked at the brutality of it all. She'd tried to avoid fights in the marketplace or in the tavern itself so as not to get caught up in things, but the fierce grin on this small girl's face both awed and humbled her.

This stranger was a warrior like in the tales of old her parents used to read to her at night.

A hero.

She jumped slightly at a roar of anger and frustration as the leader rose to his feet and lurched towards the brunette, who stood calmly waiting for his approach. At the last second, as he swung his fist at her head, she ducked to the side, latching onto his arm and seemingly climbing up it. Her legs wrapped around his neck, and she used the momentum to carry him back to the ground, where she gave her thighs one final, vicious twist to snap his neck as well.

As she regained her footing, she looked around as if in satisfaction. When Sara did the same she was amazed to see that not a single item of furniture had been disturbed.

And then the brunette girl was marching forward to grab the remaining man by the scruff of his neck as he still cowered in the middle of the floor, clutching his broken arm.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully," she said in a deadly quiet voice. "I never want to see your ugly face again. And if I hear about any more of you Loyalist assholes harassing these nice people, I'm going to find you. No matter where you go, I will find you. And do you want to know what I'm going to do to you?"

The man shook his head frantically at the sight of her menacing smirk. "N- n- no, no I really don't…"

"Well," she said offhandedly as she let go of him. "I'm sure you can use your imagination. I can make a death last a long, long time, understand?"

"Y- yeah, I mean, yes, ma'am."

She tilted her head towards the door. "Git."

He staggered to his feet, whimpering as he flung himself out the front door.

The brunette girl sighed and dusted her hands off. Then she grabbed a corpse in each hand and dragged them out the front door after the man she'd let go.

She repeated the action again, and then finally took the leader himself out. Sara was by the window by this point and watched as the slender girl threw the militia leader's body atop the pile of his team in the middle of the dusty street as if it weighed nothing.

Her eyes were wide as saucers as she watched the girl re-enter the tavern, pull her cloak back around her skinny shoulders, and pick up the plate of bacon. She stuffed one piece in her mouth and then the rest into a pocket before pulling out one of the Loyalist government-minted coins and leaving it on the table. The denomination more than covered her scant meal.

"W- wait!" Sara stuttered anxiously as the girl began to pull her hood up and turn to leave.

The brunette paused to look in her direction, her pale green eyes alight with curiosity.

Sara took a deep breath to gather her courage. "What is your name?"

The girl smiled. "Call me… Scrapper." With that she pulled her hood up and slid out the door, leaving Sara to sit down upon a chair in wonderment.

* * *

Human Enclave Marketplace

Caitlin wandered the open-air market aimlessly, munching on the occasional piece of bacon she'd sneak out of her pocket. She didn't really need anything there, but this was the best place to overhear gossip. Sometimes she'd be lucky enough to come across a traveling merchant and she would very carefully probe them for information regarding either the history leading up to the current affairs or any sign of her missing siblings or friends.

_Not that I've had any luck whatsoever in that last bit._

_/Patience, Cat. Only been about a week, and I'm sure you guys got scattered a bit./_

_I know Chris, but that's the problem, isn't it? I'm going off of nothing but assumptions. And what did you call those?_

The disembodied voice of her resident, belonging to the soul that powered the diminutive escaped lab experiment, sighed in her head. _/The mother of all fuck-ups./_

_Exactly. So allow me my pessimism._

_*Can't afford it, though, girlie. Can't give up on any of them.*_

_And I won't, Eric,_ she replied testily to her other resident, a former experiment himself who had died trying to escape from the same laboratory. _I'm just sick of not knowing bugger-all, as Abby would say._

_/And you're worried./_

Caitlin paused and closed her eyes, willing away the tears of frustration and concern. _Damn straight I am. Becca's been without me for a week, how much longer can she go and keep her sanity tethered?_

_/But we don't know for sure how far away the bond works.../_

_No, again, we don't know. I don't fucking know anything, at least concerning the others, all right?_

In the week since she'd been dropped out of the malfunctioning portal, she'd managed to amass some amount of background on how things got the way they were. Initially, after recognizing the Chitauri from news reports, she thought perhaps this was some sort of alternate reality where their initial invasion wasn't halted. But that didn't seem to be the case, there was some other event that happened to cause this second invasion. Some event that weakened the planet, or the planet's protectors at least.

The current state of affairs was easy enough to glean. Humans were now an endangered species, second-class citizens to the Chitauri occupiers. Those of their race were like locusts, taking over a planet and exhausting its resources before abandoning it to die off as the vegetation and animals withered and the waters ran dry.

She'd seen one of the massive mining ships far off into the distance one time. She thought it was a smaller ship at first before it flew behind a distant mountain, and then she realized the scale of the thing. From what she'd learned, the landing ships would plop themselves down and strip-mine an entire region before flying off again to bring the resources back to wherever the Chitauri originated from.

Caitlin was despondent to learn of the areas on Earth that had already been devoured and were now inhospitable. Most of Asia and Africa. The Alaskan and Canadian regions were drained and ground into dust.

Now humanity huddled together in small allowable enclaves in the US and Europe. Only remote communities out on the islands and the like were free from oppression.

And it seemed like it had been that way for quite some time.

There didn't seem to be any sort of calendar anymore, at least she hadn't been able to determine the actual date. She had no idea how long this all had been taking place, or how far into the future she now found herself.

But, all this was secondary to her main mission, and that was to find Rebecca, Abby, Kitty, and Blink.

She could only assume they all arrived together, even if it seemed to be separated by distance. Nobody else had been around when she initially tumbled to the ground about a week ago, and she didn't want to wait for long once she got the lay of the land and the nature of the enemy. She'd made her way towards what civilization she could find, which turned out to be what was, at one time, the city of Philadelphia. It was now the Chitauri regional city, named only in their own language. It had a sizeable human enclave, which is where she'd been lurking ever since, hoping against hope that her friends and sisters would do the same.

_*And your bond still isn't telling you where any of them are?*_

_No, yet another thing pissing me off. I can tell they're here, but it's all fuzzy, I can't get a good direction on either of them. And that doesn't help at all for Blink or Kitty._

_/Cat, it's okay to be more concerned about your sisters than your friends./_

_Yeah, maybe. I can still feel a little guilty about it, though._

Her musings were interrupted as the proprietor the next stall over, selling scissors and knives of rough quality, spoke to the one in front of her which contained cloth and ribbons.

"It's gotten worse," the balding man next door murmured. "The aliens pulled out of the west coast cities altogether, left the enclaves there to fend for themselves."

"Isn't that better, though, for them?" the ferret-like man behind the textile stall inquired.

"Nah, they pull out everything. The tech, the supplies, the patrols… It's like a warzone out there right now, everybody's scrambling for survival and goods…"

The skinny man with the mustache sighed remorsefully. "Why am I not surprised, huh? We lose a war against the aliens, and it turns into a war against other humans right away."

"Good for business."

"Sure, good for business, bad for humanity, know what I'm sayin'?"

The larger man looked over at Caitlin sharply as he noticed her presence. She kept her movements small and innocuous and her face in the shadows of her cloak, but he was suspicious of her nonetheless.

"Better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you," he murmured softly. "Never know when a collaborator is nearby, even here in the slums of an enclave."

Caitlin suppressed a sigh. Really it didn't matter how softly they spoke, she could hear them even if she were across the way, so long as she concentrated. But she doubted she'd get anything more from them now.

The brunette moved on, finding herself in a noodle shop that reminded her fondly of the ones in her neighborhood of Chinatown back home. Well, back home in her time.

She snorted to herself softly. _Time travel is such a pain in the ass._

_*Becca would be able to keep it straight.*_

_Yeah, she would,_ Caitlin thought with a fond smile.

As she consumed her noodle bowl, laced with an unidentifiable meat that she chose not to question overmuch, her ears perked up at a conversation over on the other side of the cafe.

"Idiots," a tattered raven-haired woman snorted irritably. "They set those refugee camps up and just invite an attack."

"Quiet," the man across from her hissed. By the way he closed his hand over her arm, he was either her husband or boyfriend. Possibly a different familial relative, but Caitlin wasn't terribly well versed still in relationship norms.

"Oh, be quiet yourself, not like anyone's listening to us," she replied. Still, her voice was lowered a bit from earlier.

"You know they serve an important function," the man eventually muttered in between bites.

"Yeah, for those who aren't marked. Anybody who is stupid enough to go around unmarked deserves what they get."

Now _that_ got her interest. She hadn't heard anything about this, but it explained why the Loyalist troops in the tavern were checking the forearms of the other patrons. So far she'd been lucky in that she hadn't run across any patrols checking for such identification, but the brunette assumed if she were to venture into a more secure area that would change.

Plus, she now had a new area to check for her friends.

Caitlin listened to them for a while longer, but the best she could pick up on was that this refugee camp was somewhere to the northeast, in between there and what remained of New York City.

Leaving another coin that she had pilfered from the Loyalist gang she'd encountered that morning, she left the shop and re-entered the marketplace. After a good fifteen minutes of searching, she found a canteen of boiled water for purchase and a few dried foodstuffs that might last awhile.

Then she set out on foot.

* * *

Northeast of the Chitauri Regional Capital  
(Former City of Trenton)

Caitlin had been walking for a couple of hours before she came across any sign of human civilization outside the enclave.

Smoke rose up in the distance, curling up high before dissipating into the wind to swirl and eddy across the dismal grey sky. It looked to be a bit too large for a campfire. As it happened to lie along her current path, however, she continued on, albeit more cautiously than before.

She needn't have bothered.

Set several hundred yards off of the side of the ruined freeway was a large pile of corpses. It was tended by androids, from what Caitlin could see, and they were stoking the fires to keep it burning brightly as they piled more on top.

The brunette sighed heavily and continued on, careful to keep as many items of cover in between her and the gathering.

As night fell, she continued on until she could see no longer. The ever-present sky cover prevented any starlight to shine through, much less a hint of the moon, and she knew even as enhanced as her vision was, it couldn't match the scanners of the alien's android scouts.

Caitlin headed off of the road towards what looked like at one time could have been a mall of some sort, if the barren and torn remains of the surrounding parking lot were any indication. The building itself, of course, was mostly squashed flat, but here and there were some pockets of rubble that would give her both shelter and cover.

Evidently, she wasn't the only one with that idea, as a whiff of a campfire reached her nose, causing it to twitch slightly.

The brunette cocked her head to the side, frozen behind a piece of concrete the size of a car, as she extended her senses out to find the source of activity.

_/Careful who you trust out here./_

_Really? You gonna tell me to watch for ambushes as well?_

Chris chuckled lightly in her head. / _Point taken. Just be careful./_

_I'm sorry, Chris, I just…_

_/I know. What's a conscience for, though, right?/_

The whiff came by again and she had a definite bearing now. It took her a half hour of stealthy creeping, gently placing each foot so as not to disturb any rubble and feeling outward for any tripwires or the like before her hearing picked up on several voices. Seemed to be at least one male and one, possibly two females.

As she got closer she finally found the first of the deadfalls. A stick propped up against a pile of debris that would be easily jarred by someone walking by. She snickered to herself softly. _Rudimentary, but at least they're trying._

Sidestepping the crude alarm system, she slinked closer until she could see the flickering light that was well-concealed by the surrounding rubble and partially covered by the remains of a corrugated aluminum roof.

The brunette sat there for a full minute, looking over the tableau and making sure there were no surprises in store for her. Then she slipped out of the shadows, removed her hood, and cleared her throat gently.

The reaction of the trio in front of her was instantaneous. The burly man with a barrel chest and short-cropped brown hair stood to the front, a large steel club in his hands held ready, while the two women, one raven-haired and the other a dirty blonde that was closer to brunette than anything, backed him up with what appeared to be hunting rifles, though they kept their eyes roving about to look for other dangers.

"Hello," Caitlin said, her hands held out to her side. "I was wondering if I could join your fire? I got some supplies I can share."

The three stared at her incredulously before muttering amongst themselves, not taking their eyes off of her. Caitlin stood by patiently and listened to them debate whether or not to allow this strange girl, wandering the wasteland all by herself, to join them or to turn her away. Fortunately, there was no talk of trying to kill her for the aforementioned supplies, so she stayed put.

Finally the raven-haired woman, in her forties or so and with a small scar on her chin, nodded brusquely and shouldered her rifle. "Yeah, sure kid, come on in."

"Thanks!" she replied, walking over calmly and shrugging off her cloak. She dropped it off to the side along with her small knapsack and spun about once to make sure they knew she was unarmed. "My name's Caitlin," she finally said as she sat cross-legged a few feet from the others.

The others sat as well, their weapons kept nearby and still eyeing her cautiously. "You out here all on your lonesome without weapons?" the large man asked with a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

Caitlin shrugged nonchalantly. "I can take care of myself."

"Riiight…" he drawled. "Well, I'm Jake, this is my wife Kass," he indicated the raven-haired woman, "and then this is Zoe."

Caitlin smiled at the latter, a deeply tanned young woman with eyes that twinkled a bright blue. "Thanks for letting me stay. Like I said, I got some rations I can share if you like."

Kass glanced at her husband before raising her eyebrows. "Anything fresh?"

"Sorry, no, just some dried stuff. Fruit and meat, mostly."

Zoe's face broke out into a pleased smile. "Would you mind sharing some of the fruit?" she asked in a musical voice.

"Sure thing!" Caitlin pulled her pack over and very slowly pulled out a wrapped package before scooting closer to the dirty blonde. "Here, take what you like."

"Oh, is this an apple slice?"

"I think so. The guy from the market wasn't very specific, for all I know they could have mixed in some leather."

Jake chuckled, relaxing somewhat. "Naw, they're pretty reliable, if you came from the enclave. Word travels fast among those of us still alive out here, and they'd never get any more business if they tried to screw someone over."

Caitlin nodded. That made a lot of sense, actually, and was another tidbit about her current predicament to file away.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Kass asked. "Where you headed towards?"

"Well," she said slowly, having earlier decided to stick to the truth as much as she could, "I lost my sisters and friends I was traveling with, and I'm trying to find them again. I heard there was a refugee camp nearby, figured I'd check there."

The other three shared a glance among themselves. "Those refugee camps..." Kas said slowly. "They're dangerous to be around. Broadcasting their existence like that… Sometimes the aliens and their bots will leave 'em alone, but sometimes… I dunno if they get bored or want the practice or whatever. But they just swoop in…" She sighed, a faraway look in her eyes. "Nobody's left alive."

"We've been to a few before," Jake explained. "That's where we met with Zoe, actually, got out just before it was raided."

"Well, all the more reason for me to get there quickly and check it out!" Caitlin replied confidently.

Jake chuckled. "Can't fault your enthusiasm. You're on the right track if you're heading northeast, but you go too far and you'll miss it." He bent down and pulled out a knife to scratch in the dirt. "Here's the road, here's the enclave, and here's what's left of New York City. Right here," he marked with a small 'X', "is where we're at. Now, 'bout a half hour up the road from here, you'll find the remains of a big sign for a university. At least, that's what the sign says, not like any of us remember what it actually used to be. Sitting right off the side of the road. You make a left there, head straight west, and you'll reach the refugee camp in no time. It's hidden behind a ridge."

"I don't know if it'll still be there," Kass sighed. "I mean, it's not one of the mobile ones like out in the midwest from what I hear, but still…"

"Thanks, really," Caitlin smiled. "I'll head there at first light."

Zoe handed the half-filled pouch of dried fruit back to the brunette. "You sure you don't wanna stick with us?"

"Can't. I got a responsibility to them, and besides… they're my sisters. I'll find them, no matter what."

"I used to have a sister once," Kass said wistfully. "She was ten when she took a pulse rifle hit to the face. Killed her right in front of me, wasn't but eight myself."

Caitlin looked into the campfire, her soul feeling very weary.

"What was her name?" she finally whispered.

"Kate. Looked just like me." The raven-haired woman sighed. "I wish you luck in finding your family and friends."

"Thanks," the brunette murmured.

They settled down to sleep soon thereafter, Caitlin rolling up her cloak to use as a pillow. They allowed the fire to die down into embers while they slept, taking turns on watch. Caitlin herself didn't really need the sleep much, but her body could use the time to recharge.

_Seems almost an impossible task, finding four girls in the middle of all… this._

_/For anyone else, sure. For you? I got faith./_

She snorted softly. _I'm glad you do. My faith in myself is a little rattled at the moment._

_/No reason to be. You're a survivor and a tracker. You are likely the most qualified person on the entire planet right now to reunite with them./_

_Huh. Well, when you put it that way…_

Her ears perked up as she heard something off. Some sound crossed her consciousness as she rested, something that didn't belong with the other nighttime sounds.

Caitlin glanced over at Jake, who had taken the first watch, but he didn't seem to react. She gathered herself up into a crouch, head tilted and straining to hear.

There it was again, very faint… but definitely metal on stone.

She slinked over to Jake, touching him on the arm which caused him to jump, but her finger on his lips stilled an outcry. Caitlin touched her own ear and pointed off back towards the road along the path she'd taken to get there.

Jake nodded, gripping his club and moving over to wake Kass and Zoe while the brunette girl crept towards the edge of the rubble that they sheltered in.

And then there was a clatter as a deadfall was triggered.

The two women barely had time to bring their rifles to bear before the enemy was upon them.

Caitlin could see a pair of Chitauri and perhaps six or so androids, which seemed to be twice what their usual patrols consisted of. The bots came in first, crashing in through the rubble with their glowing red eyes set into a fearsome death's-head visage, while the Chitauri led from behind, crouching protectively behind their machines.

The brunette girl decided that wouldn't do at all.

She sprinted straight at a pair of the androids, skipping off of a large rock to get herself airborne. First. she sent a powerful kick out to the one on the right, not holding back in the slightest, and was satisfied to see sparks fly from its neck as the head was bashed over onto its shoulder. Then she used the momentum from that kick to land on the other one's shoulders, pummeling with her fists at whatever delicate exposed circuits or wiring she could find before kicking off in a graceful arc behind them. Neither one would be down for the fight, but hopefully. it would gain her a little bit of attention and take some of the heat off of the others.

Plus, she figured threatening their Chitauri masters was a great way to really piss them off.

She landed in a crouch right in front of the pair of aliens, garbed in their greyish armor. One had a pulse rifle that encased his hand while the other held one of their staffs that served as a rifle. She was pretty sure she could use the latter one, so she rolled in to attack that one first.

Caitlin spun to the side to avoid their initial barrage, picking up a rock as she went and flinging it at the second one's face. It ducked, but the cessation of fire was enough to allow her to close in on her target.

These aliens were strong enough, perhaps more so that an average human, but it still wasn't up to the standard of Caitlin or her sisters. The brunette sent a vicious kick straight into the alien's leg, causing it to buckle with a satisfying crunch, and immediately grabbed hold of its head, twisting sharply. The differing anatomy didn't allow for an easy takedown that way, but she managed to break his neck through sheer brute force rather than her usual finesse.

By that time the other alien had brought his weapon back around, and two of the undamaged androids had turned as well to deal with her. She flipped over the corpse, using it as shelter while she grabbed hold of the discarded weapon.

Diving forward into a roll, she came up and sent a shot into the midsection of the remaining Chitauri and the head of one of the androids. Returning fire seared into her left arm, causing her to gasp in pain, but she pushed forward and let her injured arm hang limply at her side.

Spinning the energy staff one-handed, she knocked the Chitauri onto its back and then rested it behind her shoulders, pointed at the second android. It had paused in its attack, fearful of hitting the Chitauri, and she sent several bolts at it, staggering it backwards before one of the shots snapped its head up and it collapsed to the ground.

The brunette spun again, planting the end of the staff into the groaning Chitauri's chest and squeezing off one last shot into him, which had the unfortunate side effect of damaging the weapon with the blowback. She staggered to the side once done, wincing at the pain in her upper arm. It was a graze, but enough to almost sever the slender appendage and render it useless. She was fairly certain it took a good chunk out of her bone as well.

And then she noticed the sound of more approaching androids from the direction of the campsite, and her heart sank at the implication. She gritted her teeth determinedly against the agony from her wound.

"Right, you wanna do this, assholes?" she growled as three more machines entered the area, one of which was sputtering sparks from where she'd damaged its neck earlier. "Let's dance."

She flung the ruined weapon to the side and took off at a sprint directly towards the mechanical enemy. In mid-stride, there was a tearing of fabric as her clothes ripped away, and a sleekly muscular black panther tore into the androids with abandon.

The first machine got off only a single shot before it was knocked on its back, but the panther clamped her jaws over its head and twisted it off with a shower of sparks before it could react further. The other two tried to spread out, but the few shots that landed on the beast only seemed to make her madder.

Several minutes of bestial screams overlaid with the sounds of tearing metal later, the panther sat, panting lightly, among a pile of smoking machinery.

Caitlin changed back into her human form again and checked her arm to make sure it had healed. Satisfied, she cautiously made her way back to camp.

The first damaged android was there, Jake's massive metal club embedded in the smoking remains of its head. Jake himself lay next to his kill, several burn marks charring his torso. It was obvious what had killed him, however, as half of his face was missing.

Zoe was on her back, the dirty blonde staring sightlessly at the sky as her insides leaked out of the gaping hole in her midsection, while Kass lay on her side next to her, missing an arm and half of her neck. Their useless rifles were still clutched in their hands.

Caitlin sank to her haunches and closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Then she rose again, gathering her belongings and what edible supplies the group had brought with them. The brunette girl scrounged up a pair of black pants and a grey tee shirt that fit her well enough. Finally, she wrapped her cloak back around her. With one last regretful look behind, she strode off into the dark.

Suddenly she no longer felt like resting.

* * *

Refugee Camp  
(Formerly Princeton NJ)

The camp was relatively easy to find once she knew what she was looking for. It was set up against a trickling stream that looked to be at the bottom of what was once a lake.

Caitlin walked along the perimeter, observing the going on's of humanity inside and out of the camp in the grey light of the early dawn, though no sun was visible. So far she had not come across a single sentry or lookout, though she supposed there could be some up in the ruined tower that was still miraculously standing for the most part. Humans seemed to come and go without restriction, though they were mostly families trudging in with only the clothes on their backs. A few work gangs were set up to haul buckets of water from the stream over to where several large vats were being heated to boiling in order to make them safe for consumption.

The brunette pulled out her canteen and took a sip, glancing up at the staticky-grey sky.

_Never seems to change, does it?_

_/What, the sky?/_

_Yeah, there's no weather patterns, no clouds, just always this… grey._

_*Maybe there's some history behind that.*_

_What, like that one movie, what was it… Oh!_ The Matrix _, right? Humans tried to block out the sun and all to deny solar power to the machines…_

_/I don't know how plausible that is. Who knows what these aliens need./_

_Eh, it's all a moot point. I'm just putting this off._

_/Why?/_

_In case I come up empty again._

_/Cat… Don't get discouraged. You will find them, you know you will./_

_Yeah. I know, Chris._ She tried not to let her despondency leak through her thoughts. It was really difficult to hide things sometimes from the disembodied voices in your head.

She wrapped her cloak tighter around her and headed in towards the camp, walking over a fallen sign that read 'Princeton University'.

The camp was a collection of tents and lean-tos clustered around an open space. In the middle of that was a rusty food truck set onto blocks and a large tank of water. The latter was continually refilled from the sanitizing area.

Several long lines snaked their way around the clearing to receive food and clean water, though it seemed to be moving fairly quickly. Caitlin made a slow circuit of the tents, straining her senses for anything familiar, but wasn't able to pick up on anything. After about an hour she found a pile of rubble that several lean-tos had been built up against and adroitly climbed up to to overlook the central clearing.

The brunette sighed as she got a good look at the orderly lines. There had to be almost a hundred people milling about, mostly adults and small children. Almost all of them were bundled up against the mid-morning chill, some with concealing cloaks similar to hers.

_I suppose I could try moving through the crowds, but that might draw too much attention to myself._

_*Why is it we're keeping a low profile?*_

_Because, Eric, I've beat up too many Loyalist soldiers. I don't need my description getting spread around. Who knows, they might even have a reward out for information._

_*Ooh, look at you, big time criminal with a price on your head…*_

_Oh, shut up. I don't know, okay? I'm just covering the possibilities._

_/You might be a little over-cautious, though. Think about it, if your description does get out by asking questions, then the others might hear about you too./_

_...Okay, I didn't think about it that way. So I could be leading a trail back to me not just for Loyalists but for the girls as well._

_/It's just a thought./_

_No, it's a good one. Thanks, Chris._

Once again she gave a small offering of thanks to whatever power out there, even if it were only her own, that in combination with Charles Xavier's help returned two of her residents to her after she'd been so damaged back in Sokovia. She honestly didn't know how she could have managed this on her own.

As Caitlin was about to hop back down, her ears picked up on joyful laughter incongruous with the generally somber mood of the refugees. She glanced over at the middle of the crowd to see a small girl running gleefully through the lines, being chased by another slightly larger girl, the both of them laughing.

And then the second girl's hood fell back to reveal a familiar face.

Caitlin sucked in a surprised but pleased breath and almost called out to her, but then her ears picked up on something. She cocked her head to the side, listening intently and attempting to identify the sound. What it eventually resolved into made her blood run cold.

The high-pitched whine of repulsorlifts.

Her eyes wide with panic, Caitlin turned to see if the pair of girls were still in her vision. They were, almost to the edge of the crowd, but not far enough. And the repulsorlifts were approaching rapidly.

"Kitty!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Phase, now!"

The others in the crowd looked up, startled, but by now the shriek of the approaching engines had quickly risen to a banshee-like howl. Caitlin threw herself off of the mound and rolled to the ground towards the outskirts of the refugee camp.

Three of the alien's attack craft shot by overhead, each dropping a small silvery cylinder. A half second later, the entire area erupted in fire and noise, the shockwave leveling every tent in the area.

Caitlin coughed against the smoke, staggering to her feet. Her ears were bleeding, she could tell, and the ringing was making her head spin. But she knew it wasn't bad enough to require shifting and would heal on its own soon enough.

She lurched back towards the center of the camp but paused at the outskirts of a carnage more horrific than anything she had ever witnessed before.

Bodies and body parts were strewn everywhere. The blood and bones and fragments of people were so mixed together that it was like a puzzle had been dumped out on the ground, irrevocably mixed up in a cacophony of red.

She stood stock-still for almost a full minute, her brain trying to catch up with what she was seeing. The horror of it all was far too great for even as enhanced as hers was, and she was unable to truly comprehend the details, much less the big picture. Eventually, though, her ears stopped ringing, and she was struck by the eerie silence that reigned over the remains of the camp.

All save for one girl's sobbing.

She thought at first it was herself, and while she did have tears streaming down her face, no noise was coming from her. Instead, it came from the edge of the clearing, where a small form was huddled over the bloody remains of another, clutching it to her.

"Kitty," she breathed, hurrying forward. She tried not to think too much upon what she was stepping over, or on, as she darted to her friend's side.

Caitlin crouched down and rested a hand on the other brunette girl's shoulder.

Tortured brown eyes turned to meet her, shining from the tears she'd been shedding. "Cat?" she croaked hoarsely.

"Hey, Kitty," she said softly, pulling her friend's bloody hands away from the pile of loosely-attached body parts that she'd been holding. Kitty gave another sob, and buried her face into Caitlin's shoulder, trembling and clutching to her like a lifeline.

"Shhh, it's okay," Caitlin murmured, holding on to one of her best friends tightly.

"H- H- Her name," Kitty sobbed softly. "It was Ellie, her name was Ellie…"

Caitlin just kept her arms wrapped around Kitty as she was wracked with sobs, rubbing her back soothingly. She kept her senses extended in case there was a follow-up attack or patrol, but nothing seemed to be forthcoming. There were a few screams and cries out on the outskirts as those outside the blast zone recovered, but other than that the area seemed quiet.

Eventually, Kitty's weeping subsided and she leaned back slightly, wiping her eyes with the dark brown cloak she'd wrapped herself in, now as bloodstained as Caitlin's.

"Okay," the brunette mutant nodded hesitantly. "I'm okay."

"We should get moving," Caitlin said gently. "I don't know when they'll be back, but I'm sure they will eventually."

"Right," Kitty sighed. "Let me… Over this way was our tent. I'll go grab my bag, and… anything else."

Caitlin helped her to her feet and they shuffled forward. Kitty kept her eyes trained on the edge of the camp with a thousand-yard stare, still a bit shell-shocked, while Caitlin tried to steer her around obstacles and the more gruesome debris in their path.

"I met up with them a week ago," Kitty murmured softly. "Lukas, Elana, and their little girl Ellie. She's… She was only six." She sniffled and wiped her face on a relatively clean patch of her cloak. "They found me wandering… and took me in. They were… They were so nice to me…"

Caitlin tightened her arm around her friend reassuringly. "I'm so, so sorry, Kitty," she murmured.

They came to a stop at one of the flattened tents. Kitty just stared at it blankly.

Caitlin sighed patiently and let her friend go in order to wrestle with the flimsy canvas. Eventually, she got it pulled back to reveal the meager belongings of the family Kitty had been traveling with. She got back to her feet and took hold of Kitty's hand, dragging the brunette girl forward.

"Which bag is yours?" Caitlin asked quietly.

Kitty looked about and wordlessly pointed at a small black knapsack. Caitlin nodded and bent to open it up, doing a quick inventory. Then she began to poke through the other items in the tent to find anything else of use. She eventually came up with a serviceable multitool, a half-filled canteen, and a rudimentary first aid kit, as well as a few extra sets of clothes.

One bag she lifted had a few books in it, mostly with tattered covers or lacking covers altogether. She held them up to her reticent friend.

"Do you want any of these?"

Kitty nodded and pointed to the sole hardcover book, the front worn and scratched. Caitlin could just make out that it was a collection of fairy tales. She gave a sad smile as she slipped it into Kitty's bag and then stood with it in hand.

"We need to get going, alright?"

Her friend nodded again. "Alright," she murmured softly, allowing Caitlin to lead her away by the hand.

They walked for perhaps an entire mile back towards the main road, both brunettes quiet and absorbed in their own thoughts before either of them spoke again.

"How did you find me?" Kitty whispered. She cleared her dry throat uncomfortably.

Caitlin handed her the canteen from her own bag. "Pure luck, really. You're the first I've found so far."

Kitty took a sip and returned the canteen solemnly. "And we're gonna find the others?"

"Damn straight. We're gonna find every one of them."

The brunette mutant nodded again. They continued to walk for another fifteen minutes until she spoke once more.

"I'm glad you found me."

"Me too, Kitty."

Caitlin slipped her arm around Kitty once more, neither one commenting on the tears that ran freely down their faces as they trudged back towards the human enclave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so... sorry for ending that on such a dark note. It's not exactly a happy or particularly safe space they're in right now, but at least they're starting to collect each other.
> 
> Next story we'll see what Rebecca has been up to…
> 
> Stay shiny!


	4. Chapter 4

Chitauri Regional Capital, Human Enclave

Rebecca's head hung down, her long red hair spilling over her shoulders as she crouched on her hands and knees. She spat out a mouthful of blood as she felt her horrific stomach wound begin to slowly knit closed.

The diminutive redhead willed it to heal faster.

Circumstances seemed to conspire against this, however, as a large booted foot painfully slammed into her midsection, eliciting a sharp scream from her. The kick sent her rolling to the side, curled up protectively and in agony as the dirt floor beneath her turned to bloody mud.

"Not so tough now, are you, little bitch?" a deep voice rumbled.

Rebecca tilted her head to glare up at the towering man's approach. Her pale green eyes were slightly unfocused from the beating she'd received.

Her opponent hefted his giant sword up above his head. "Time to die," he chuckled darkly.

* * *

Three Days Earlier

Rebecca was beginning to suspect that her arrival to this desolate apocalyptic world predated her siblings and friends a significant amount of time.

She refused to believe the other possibilities that her organized mind had itemized. The small redheaded girl was fairly certain that Caitlin, at least, would have followed her into the portal as it malfunctioned. As strong as the wind was in that alleyway, she had a high level of confidence in the chances of at least several of the others being pulled through as well.

Also, she discarded the remote possibility that they had been deposited into entirely different time periods. For she had quickly ascertained in her trip from the ruins of New York City down to the closest human enclave that this was their own dystopian future. She had waited for three days at the spot where she'd landed, hiding out from roving patrols of what she recognized to be Chitauri soldiers and androids apparently under their command. Eventually, she came across some scavengers who pointed her to the south where she might find drinkable water.

That left the idea that while they might have only been separated by a few seconds at the most in their entry, perhaps that time differential expanded into days or weeks. She felt guilty for not waiting at her site longer, but her enhanced body still needed some nutrients before it began to adversely affect her. Four days was the likely limit, not that she'd tested the extremes of how long she could go without nourishment.

Sleep deprivation, however, now that she'd had plenty of chances to test. And she was right at her current limit of six days, feeling lethargic and uncoordinated as the redhead stumbled into the abandoned building she'd decided on for shelter.

 _I suppose this shall suffice,_ she thought to herself wearily. _It has not seen recent habitation, nor activity._

She received no reply to her musings, not that she'd expected any. Unlike her sisters, she had no conscience or voice in her head to converse with. She had one when she was woken, or born perhaps, though that was an unlikely characterization of the moment she had another person's soul thrust into her.

She and her resident, as Caitlin liked to call them, had only a couple of weeks together before she'd been activated. Rebecca received the impression that the procedure had been rushed due to a demand for results, but those results themselves were disastrous.

Rebecca had been left damaged, her resident burned away, and the activation process unsuccessful.

The pain from the electrical probes they'd used still echoed in her memories, as did the screams that had torn from her throat as she'd felt all of her nerve endings catch on fire. It wasn't a reminiscent path she liked to travel down and fortunately, she didn't really need to.

Because her entire existence changed two days later when she met Caitlin.

An eerie moaning sound caused her to freeze in her tracks and glance upwards through the partially demolished roof at the source. One of the alien's giant space whales, for lack of a better descriptor, went floating by like an ominous cloud. The redhead could just barely make out the outline against the dark sky.

She waited for it to pass before heading further into what had once been a warehouse of some sort. She smiled softly to herself at the memory of a conversation held with Caitlin regarding the overuse of warehouses with their vigilante activities.

The smile slowly faded as Rebecca slumped against an interior wall. It had been some time since she'd seen her sisters, almost two weeks in her estimation, and though she could feel the bond still, if only barely, it was a tenuous thing. She had to actively work to hold onto it, almost like a lifeline.

Her pale green eyes flickered to the open space in the roof once more. She knew they were out there, her sisters Caitlin and Abby. She'd felt them so strongly before, but then it seemed to get more muddied a few days after she'd been deposited in the wasteland, right when she decided to begin her journey southward. At first. it poked a hole in her theory regarding the time dilation, but perhaps she was only reacting to their travel through the portal.

She just didn't know. And it was beyond frustrating for her to go so long without answers, without having her sisters nearby.

She worried about Kitty and Blink as well, of course. It was perhaps a bit selfish of herself to care more about her own well-being, but she craved the contact with her family.

The small redheaded girl huddled miserably in the wrappings she'd scrounged from around the enclave. She'd been able to experience many emotions since attempting to integrate with human society. Most of them, in fact, pleasant, including those she experienced with her boyfriend Sam.

But this was the first time she had felt heartbreakingly lonely.

If she were to analyze it clinically, she knew there was a hint of depression edging into her state of mind. She'd been able to push it away before but it was becoming more difficult by the day.

Rebecca sat dejectedly, cold and alone, and finally gave into her emotions.

She rested her forehead against her upraised knees and, for the first time in her admittedly short life, sobbed her heart out.

"Now what would break the heart of such a pretty girl?"

Rebecca was instantly on her feet, crouched in a combat stance and her senses extended as she dashed away her tears with her forearm. She mentally flagellated herself for becoming so wrapped up in her own anguish that she neglected to fully check the perimeter or pay attention for threats.

Her sharp gaze focused upon a rafter where a dark shadow rested against a beam.

"Not gonna hurt ya," the soft male voice continued. "But you look like you could use some company. Mind if I join you down there?"

Rebecca continued to wordlessly stare upwards at him. She couldn't detect any other threats in the area, but her lethargy was already encroaching upon her and making her lose the razor-sharp focus that the adrenaline had forced upon her.

"Oookay," the man drawled. "How about you come on up here, then? It's a lot safer than on the ground, honestly. There's gonna be a Loyalist patrol through here in about an hour or so."

The small redhead closed her eyes briefly before nodding. With a few short leaps, she was up in the rafter at the same level, though crouched cautiously on the other side of the beam that the stranger was sitting upon.

"Not gonna bite, I swear," he chuckled, leaning forward slightly and into the dim light cast by the populated areas of the human enclave. He pulled his hood back, startling Rebecca at the sight.

He was fairly dark-skinned and handsome, with close-shorn hair and only a little bit of scruff on his face. He seemed to be in his twenties perhaps, though his face was gaunt like every other human she'd come across so far.

And he reminded her of Sam, so much so that it caused a physical twinge of pain through her chest.

He must have noticed the adverse reaction as he held out his hands reassuringly. "Hey, easy now. I'm not gonna hurt you, swear on my grandma's grave, okay?" He gave her an easy smile. "My name's James. What's yours?"

The redheaded girl cleared her throat as she leaned back hesitantly against the beam opposite of James'. "Rebecca," she whispered.

"Rebecca," he repeated with a smile. "That's a pretty name. You marked?"

She blinked her eyes uncertainly at him without responding.

"You know, marked," he continued, pulling up his right shirt sleeve. There appeared to be a row of numbers and alien script lasered onto his skin. "All the humans living in here are marked."

Rebecca shook her head slowly. She had appeared to have been fortunate up to this point in that she'd avoided contact with any sort of authority.

"Hmm, from the wastelands then, huh?" James chuckled ruefully. "That explains the skittishness. Though, really, I can't blame you on that. It's dangerous no matter where you go, pretty little thing like yourself."

They settled into a somewhat companionable silence as Rebecca settled herself back and tried to get comfortable. It might have been easier on her backside down below, but she couldn't overlook the safety gained up where she was now at.

"Hey, Rebecca," James gently broke into her thoughts. "You got any family?"

The petite girl nodded her head. "Yes, I have two sisters. I have… lost them."

"Huh, that's a shame. I'm sorry to hear that. How long?"

"Two weeks."

"Where abouts did you lose them?"

Rebecca glanced down and fidgeted with the hem of her wrappings. "Up north," she replied softly. "What used to be New York."

"Yeah, that's the wastelands alright. So you think they'll end up down here?"

"I hope so. I do not know where else to look."

"Well, it's a good a bet as any, I suppose."

Another minute of silence dragged by before Rebecca dared to speak again. "What about you, James? Do you have… family?"

"Used to," he sighed. "My grandma, she was pretty famous and all, she raised me. Never knew my mom or dad really. They both died trying to resist the aliens, same as my grandma did eventually."

"I am sorry to hear that. What was her name?"

"Who, my grandma? Ororo Munroe."

Rebecca blinked her eyes incredulously. "You… are Storm's grandson?"

His head shot up as he focused his gaze on her intently. "How do you know that name?" he asked in a quietly dangerous tone.

"I…" Rebecca sighed softly. "I am not from… around here. I have… heard of Storm where I am from. She was an X-Man."

"Yeah, that's right," he replied. "Are you a mutant too?"

Rebecca tilted her head. "Why would you assume so?"

"The way you moved in getting up here. No normal human could make those jumps."

She cursed her own carelessness. _A most brilliant job of laying low, congratulations Rebecca._

"Yes, I am," she admitted quietly.

"Huh. Well, then, you definitely don't wanna get picked up in a sweep. They'll go to mark you, and pick up on your mutant gene right away." He looked down to his forearm. "Just lucky it skipped me, I guess," he finished with a bitter laugh.

"What happens to the mutants?"

"Nobody knows. They're never seen again. I'll give you three guesses as to the most popular opinion regarding their fates, though."

The redheaded girl nodded to herself thoughtfully. If the aliens could weed out those who might cause them the most problems, it would be easiest to simply eliminate them.

She covered her mouth in an involuntary yawn which James picked up on.

"Look, don't worry about sleeping up here. So long as you're not a restless sleeper, you'll stay put. Done it dozens of times, myself."

"Why?" she asked sleepily.

"Why what?"

"Why do you sleep up here instead of within the rest of the human enclave?"

James barked out a quiet little laugh. "Let's just say I have a problem with authority."

Rebecca nodded slowly, but her vision was already beginning to dim. Whether or not she could trust this man was now a moot point, as she had reached her limit and her body was now shutting down on her, forcing her to rest and recharge.

As she began to drift off, she barely caught James whisper. "Don't worry, Rebecca, I'll watch over you. Get some sleep."

* * *

Next Morning

Rebecca opened her eyes slowly, confused at first as to how she ended up suspended over the floor of a large building. If quickly came back to her as she gazed around, her pale green eyes focusing on a dark-skinned man who was still sitting in the same position as the night before.

"Good morning," James said genially. "Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly, yes I did," she replied, pulling her arms up over her head and stretching languorously.

"You seem a little more chipper today. How long had it been since you had a decent night's sleep?"

"Perhaps six days or so."

"Six days?" James repeated incredulously.

Rebecca nodded offhandedly. "Or so."

"Well, damn, girl. You're something else."

The redhead smiled softly to herself. "You sound like my boyfriend," she murmured.

"Oho, so I finally get to know something about you personally!" he chuckled, cracking his neck back and forth. "What's his name?"

"His name is Sam. I have not seen him in quite some time, however. He is… back home still. I must find my sisters and my friends before I may return to him."

"Well, how about that, an old-fashioned quest." James snapped his fingers decisively. "And I'm gonna help you with it."

"You… you will?"

"Yep! I know the city pretty well, the enclave that is. I'll take you to the spots your sisters might end up, or where you could leave word for them. There's a little tavern across the gorge, real friendly folk there, that'd be a good place to start."

"But why?"

"Can it just be that I like helping people?"

Rebecca looked back at him levelly.

"All right," he chuckled. "I'm bored, honestly, and you look like you could use the help. Doesn't hurt that you're pretty cute, too."

She felt herself blushing at the compliment. "Well, for whatever your reasoning is, I thank you for your effort."

"Doesn't hurt my rep, either, strolling around with you on my arm," he chuckled. "Say, is there a reason you talk the way you do?"

"How do I talk?" she asked confusedly.

"You know… kinda fancy, like you don't use conjectures. Is that the right word, conjectures?"

"That is the correct word, yes. And… this is just the way I talk."

"Huh, fair enough." James got to his feet. "Well, let's go get some breakfast in the market and then we'll head to the tavern, okay?"

"Very well." She rose to her feet and gathered her tattered wrappings around her slender frame. "I thank you for your assistance."

"My pleasure," he huffed out as he climbed down. By the time he reached the bottom he turned, startled to view a pair of pale green eyes looking up at him solemnly.

"How did you..." He looked from Rebecca back up to where she had been perched. "Did you just jump down?"

She nodded with a small smirk. "It was the quickest way."

"Oh, well, yeah, of course, it was," he chuckled amusedly as he led the way back out of the abandoned warehouse.

They made their way through the early morning crowds and into the open marketplace at the heart of the enclave. Rebecca had visited it before, but without any currency, she was unable to purchase anything. James, though, slipped a few coins out of his pocket and purchased a couple of pieces of warm bread.

"Here you go," he said gallantly as he handed one of them to the redheaded girl.

"Thank you, James," she replied politely before tearing into it. Her stomach growled as she ate, having been some time since she'd eaten anything fresh. The soft, warm bread tasted heavenly and felt even better as it went down.

The man looked at her with a grin on his face as she finished it off and licked her fingers. He still had half of his piece left, and offered it to her.

"Oh, no thank you. I am fine."

"Take it, I can always buy something more later."

Rebecca hesitated only for the time it took her stomach to growl again. "Thank you again," she said meekly as she snatched the bread and began to devour it as well.

They walked through the milling marketplace, Rebecca contentedly licking her fingers and peering about at the people that were shopping there.

"Humans have lost hope, have they not?"

"Eh?" James turned to his new friend inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"I do not see much happiness here, and everyone seems so…" Rebecca sighed dejectedly. "As if they were merely waiting for the inevitable."

"Well, you're not wrong," James replied solemnly. "Humanity is on its way out. We're a dying race and not a thing we can do to stop it. Once the aliens are done with us and take all their toys away, we'll be left with a desolated planet and no way to support ourselves."

"It is very disheartening," Rebecca murmured.

"Well, all we can do is the best we can with what we got left, you know?"

The small girl pondered this as they walked. Humans always seemed to be such a puzzle to her, but there was no denying their tenacity as a race. How they always seemed to overcome any obstacle placed before them, given enough time and resources.

She did not believe they would have either to work with this time, however.

Her musings were interrupted when James halted suddenly, a hand gripping her forearm.

"James?"

"Uh, yeah, just be cool Rebecca, I can talk our way outta this…"

"James Munroe," a harsh voice grated out. Rebecca peered around her friend to see a very large man standing in their path with his arms folded across his muscular chest. He was dressed in the livery of the Loyalist militia from what she could see, as were the other two men behind him. The crowd seemed to simply move around them as if they were just rocks placed in the path of a river.

"Hey there, Mike," James grinned weakly. "Long time no see, you ya been?"

"Was havin' a really shitty day, until I caught sight of you," the militia member retorted with an evil-looking grin. "Told ya to get outta the enclave."

"Sure, man, but you know how-"

His words were cut off as one of the men behind Mike stepped to the side, raised his gun and shot James through the forehead.

Rebecca was frozen in shock at the casual brutality of the act, right there in the middle of the marketplace and during the day. She'd not been able to ascertain the full measure of the Loyalist Militia power, but suddenly she was all too aware of the absoluteness of it.

"Now then," Mike chuckled. "What to do with a pretty little thing like you?"

The tiny girl snarled, clenching her fists and bringing one foot back. He was going to regret his actions.

But before she could make a move her world exploded into a bright flash of pain. She was struck from behind by something that caused her muscles to seize up and her body to topple forward onto her face.

"Don't you worry none," she heard the first man croon to her. He bent over her twitching body as her vision began to dim. "We're gonna take good care of you…"

* * *

Undisclosed Location  
Human Enclave

Rebecca sat against the wall of her dark cell, her arms wrapped around her knees. She'd been there for most of a day now, plus however long it took her to wake up from the stunner that they'd hit her with at the marketplace.

Since waking up, however, she'd not heard nor seen anyone. There were no furnishings, not even a mat, just a bare concrete cube. She'd been stripped naked before being deposited there, which didn't concern her overly except for the loss of the few personal items she still had on her. The Stark Enterprises cell phone had died long ago, not that there was any discernible signal anymore. And then there was her slender wallet, containing only a few bills. She didn't even have her identification on her the day they'd been at the cafe, as she'd left it in her new purse.

So, really, there wasn't much to cling to. And her nudity didn't bother her in the least. What was really troubling her was being stuck in a small room with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company.

And with each passing minute they drifted further and further down dark paths.

She'd finished flagellating herself over her inaction and inability to protect James from his death, and her ease of capture. She realized that, having been on her own so long and separated from her sisters, that she was off her game. Her skills were atrophying, or perhaps it was her herself.

With that thought, she leapt to her feet and began some calisthenics. _I will be prepared for when they come for me. I shall not linger in this prison for long. I will find my sisters. I_ will _find my sisters._

She repeated the last mantra as she went through her workout, pleased to note that her physical form hadn't suffered too adversely. But after three hours she'd exhausted herself, and returned to her seated position. There was no nourishment forthcoming to replenish what energy she burned off, and she wanted to be ready.

So she waited.

And that's when the creeping tendrils of dread truly began to take hold.

 _What if Blink did not come through as well?_ Rebecca blanched at the thought. _Am I stuck here in this time period, doomed to watch humanity fade away, alone and miserable? If my sisters are not actually here, or if they perish in attempting to find me, what will I do? How long am I able to continue before my sanity truly unravels?_

Rebecca knew that Caitlin's bond was the only thing that kept her anchored. The time spent apart was already beginning to unlace the delicate web of her mind, she could tell already.

_What will I be like in a month? A year?_

_How long before I lose all hope?_

_Is it possible for me to end my own life?_

She'd had a serious discussion with Caitlin about that once. Her sister had been reluctant to participate, but the redhead had been unusually persistent after coming to the conclusion that, if anything were to permanently happen to the brunette girl, she would not be able to hold on to her sanity by herself. It had become a moot point in her mind after finding Abby and including her in their bond. She'd been able to fool herself with the belief that Abby's participation in the bond might serve as a substitute for Caitlin, but now she was not so sure.

In any case, she was shocked to find out that Caitlin herself had been so low back when her mind was damaged that she'd tried to end her own life. Unsuccessfully, obviously, but there was a good chance part of that was due to their programming. Her sister had the inkling that something in her had prevented her from actually fatally damaging herself.

A small part of Rebecca, the part that had already slid the furthest into her despair, fervently hoped that was not the case.

Her wallowing was brought to an abrupt halt as a noise sounded outside of her steel door. It unlocked and swung inwards. She tensed for a fight, but the guards were armed with the stunner weapons that had so easily brought her down before.

"All right, little girl. Your turn, come on with us."

Rebecca decided that before she did anything, she needed to get a better idea of where she was first as well as the layout of the area. She kept her eyes open as she was led through a long corridor lined with similar doors, leading her to wonder how many other rooms were occupied.

Her captors did not speak until they reached another portal, this one a steel portcullis that was laboriously raised by guards on the other side.

"Another one?" one of the gate guards joked.

"Well, Jericho lost his match this morning, so the Butcher gets a new prize."

"Man, I tell ya, that's the life. Ho-candy, man."

"Yeah, if you survive."

"No thanks, I'll stick with guard duty."

Rebecca walked along with her escort, perplexed at the previous conversation and pointedly ignoring the leers of the other guards they passed. Some of the people filling the increasingly populated passageways seemed to be servants instead, unarmed and clothed in mostly rags, though they still shot her furtive glances.

She was momentarily distracted by the sight. _Why would I be paraded, naked, through these corridors? This does not seem to be the norm of humans, but I am not sure if that has changed during this time period. And why have I not seen more females?_

Finally, they ended up in a more luxurious hallway, this one lined with soft carpeting and torches in the walls. The small group halted in front of one of the doors and it was imperiously pushed open.

"Alright, Butcher," the man in front said with a leer. "Your prize is here."

_Prize?_

The man standing in the middle of the room was enormous. He had several angry red scars across his body, though it was heavily muscled without an ounce of fat it seemed. His head was shaved bald, as were his eyebrows, which made for an odd look, overall.

"Finally! I've been waitin' a long time to reach the top," he chuckled while licking his lips. "My very own concubine."

Now _that_ was a word Rebecca understood. And they were going to regret not restraining her.

The petite redhead smiled coyly as she took several steps forward. The large man grinned in anticipation as she slid one foot back…

And then leapt into the air, sending a roundhouse kick into the side of his face.

He staggered back, surprised, but recovered quickly. With a roar, he swiped at the nimble girl with massive paws, but she easily evaded the clumsy grab. She slid down, twirling up on her hands and landed both feet into his stomach. When he doubled over from the impact, far more powerful than would have been expected from such a tiny girl, she sprang back to her feet and then upon his shoulders.

With a quick twist of her hands and thighs, she snapped his thick neck.

As the large man toppled to the ground, she adroitly hopped off to face the guards.

"I am the concubine of no person," she growled, her pale green eyes flashing.

"Holy shit!" one of the guards said, shocked at the quickness and power of the tiny girl before them. "What now?"

"What now?" the head guard said, holding his stunner levelly on Rebecca. "We got ourselves a new fighter, that's what."

* * *

Human Enclave  
The Colosseum

"Ladieeesss and gentlemen!" the voice of the announcer boomed over the rudimentary speaker system. "Are you ready for a fight?"

The crowd, hundreds strong and packing the bleachers lining the caged pit, roared as one with anticipation. Vendors strolled in between the aisles, hawking potable water, questionable beer, and unidentifiable meat on a stick.

"In this corner!" the announcer continued, pointing to the left from his box overlooking the fighter's pit. "We have your local champ, a brute who has taken his own sweet time in rising through the ranks, but what a rise it has been! Give it up for… _Rockhard!_ "

The man in question, clothed in a leather vest and skirt, raised his muscular arms to the crowd who were suitably appreciative. He had a massive spear clenched in his fist and shook it to answer the applause.

"And in this corner, a newcomer! Don't be fooled by her small stature! This little thing took down the Butcher himself! I give you… _Crimson Blade!_ "

Rebecca sighed at the faint cheers, overlaid by the laughter of most of the audience. She was clad only in a cloth bikini but held a pair of short swords. They weren't terribly sharp, but they would suffice.

She had been initially resistant to even participate in these games, but the conversation with her new owner enlightened her far more than he'd intended. These fights were advertised all around the enclave, sometimes even further out as this particular colosseum was the most popular on the East Coast. And thus the idea sprung to her mind that this might just be the best chance she had of reaching out to the others. Her one stipulation for her complete cooperation was that she got to choose her name. With luck, the others would recall their conversation from the cafe regarding their, still unnecessary in her opinion, code names and would put the clues together.

In any case, with how closely they actually guarded the participants, there was little chance of her escaping outside of the arena pit.

Rebecca gazed around, ignoring her opponent for the time being as she scoped out the security of the arena. The walls were easily scaled and the fence around the pit would be simplicity itself to cut through. However, she would need to fight her way through the crowds before she even got to the exits, where stunner-wielding guards were posted.

It would be tricky, and the chances of success were fairly abysmal. For now, then, she'd play along like the good little gladiator.

Besides which, as Caitlin was fond of saying… she had a little bit of aggression to let out.

She finally looked at her opponent, another giant of a man with oversized muscles and likely a matching ego, one which couldn't possibly take her seriously.

Well, if she wanted to make a name for herself, she'd need to change that.

A bell sounded, and the man charged in with a roar, swinging his spear over his head wildly.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. _At least make this a challenge, please._

The lithe redhead nimbly stepped aside from the charge and planted her feet, thrusting both of her short swords up. The man came to a sudden halt with a surprised grunt. He stared down at the grinning little girl who had a pair of swords buried in his gut, just in time to see her viciously pull them out to the sides.

Rockhard came to a grisly end as the entire contents of his abdomen spilled onto the floor of the arena and he collapsed onto his back, sightless eyes turned upward.

A shocked silence filled the entire colosseum.

With a pleased smirk, and remembering a movie that she watched one night with her sisters on the couch of their apartment, the small redhead crossed her swords over her head and turned in a circle.

"Are you not entertained?" she cried out.

And with that, the audience went absolutely wild.

The cheers and yells were still reverberating from the walls when Rebecca was escorted back into the corridor encircling the arena.

"Not bad at all," her owner, a skinny man by the name of Ross, chortled as she walked up to him. "Think you can draw it out more next time?"

"I believe I can, yes," she replied evenly. "I merely wanted to make sure they remembered me."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," he laughed. "You will most certainly be remembered."

Her next fight was scheduled for that evening at her insistence. Now that she was receiving proper sustenance and able to rest comfortably in between fights, Rebecca was able to participate in more numerous bouts than would be the norm. She felt the accelerated schedule would also increase the rate of her fame.

This time her outfit was a little more ornamented, a shiny gold bikini with a red sash around her slim waist and matching silk arm bracers. She was allowed to use the twin short swords again, much to her relief.

_I should have made that a stipulation as well, that I might always choose my weaponry. Likely I will not always be that fortunate._

Her opponent tonight was a lean, swarthy man dressed in only a loincloth and wielding a skinny sword, almost a rapier, with practiced ease. Rebecca narrowed her eyes as he warmed up in the other corner of the arena.

_This one will be more of a challenge. Ross shall get his longer fight whether I desire it or not._

"Hey, girlie," one of the guards behind her muttered as she stood in the entryway. She inclined her head slightly to regard the man, who had seemed to react to her with a certain degree of kindness earlier during her first fight.

"Just so you know, you pissed off Rockhard's owner. He made a deal with Slipknot's owner, got him in your fight instead of your usual."

Rebecca glanced up at the box, where her owner was angrily waving his arms about at the announcer and one other man who wore a wide smile.

"I see," she murmured. "Thank you."

"Well, be careful," the guard said, and then grinned sheepishly. "'Sides, I got money riding on you."

Rebecca nodded solemnly. "I shall endeavor to ensure you are paid tonight." With that, she walked confidently into the arena, to the thunderous applause of the crowd. The other man, Slipknot, sneered at the noise and twirled his blade around him in a figure eight pattern.

The small redhead stood in her corner and simply held her swords over her head again and crossed them. The screams of the crowd increased.

Rebecca tuned out the announcer as her focus narrowed down onto her opponent.

_He is fast and quite comfortable with his blade. Possibly a master with it, though I have yet to see his footwork._

_No matter._

The bell rang out, and the two combatants cautiously approached towards the center of the arena. Rebecca kept her face neutral, but the other man wore a confident smirk.

When they were almost within striking range, Slipknot lunged in with his rapier. Rebecca didn't bother to dodge, just batted away the blade with one of her own.

He gave her a considering nod as they circled each other. "Not just a pretty face, then," he chuckled.

"I am not," she replied easily. "Though I shall be the last face you will see."

"We'll see," he grinned. His feet skipped to the side as he moved into the attack.

The rapier flashed out, and she was immediately forced to back away defensively as her blades spun to deflect the attacks.

_Interesting. This is not just mastery of the blade. He would seem to be enhanced somehow._

She spun in a circle, moving within his defenses to try for a quick strike of her own, but he danced away before she could do so.

She let out a small growl of frustration which caused the man to laugh.

And then Rebecca's eyes narrowed as her enhanced vision picked up on something, an unusual track line of needle marks along his left arm.

_Chemically enhanced, then? I have no idea what the rules are regarding such. Likely there are none. But I will need to do something drastic to end this._

With that in mind, she darted forward, her blades held out to the sides. Almost reflexively, the man brought his blade up, impaling her through her midsection.

His eyes widened as she stopped a few inches from him, practically against his chest and with her swords behind his back.

"What the fuck are you?" he gasped.

Rebecca smirked. "Your death."

As she stepped back, she swung her swords up, crossing them at his neck and severing his head from his shoulders with one quick motion. As the headless corpse fell, she thrust her swords into the dirt before grasping the impaling rapier blade and pulling it from her body, dropping it on the remains of Slipknot.

The crowd once again went wild as she picked her swords back up and crossed them over her head, turning in a slow circle before heading towards the exit. She smugly noticed that the defeated man's owner was looking decidedly less happy now.

Her owner met her as she calmly walked into the corridor. "Do you need healing?" Ross asked hurriedly.

Rebecca glanced down at her exposed belly, wiping away the blood to reveal smooth, unblemished skin. "I do not, no."

"Well," he murmured consideringly. "Now isn't that interesting. I think I'll start billing you as the unkillable girl."

"I can be killed," she dissented. "I merely heal quickly."

Ross nodded and moved away, his head down in thought as she was led back to her room.

She ate a quick meal of somewhat fresh vegetables in a clear broth, though she once again left the unidentifiable meat on her plate. Lying back on her cot, she gazed at the ceiling of her room consideringly.

_I am not sure if this is the correct course of action. Should I be doing more? Or differently? Should I attempt an escape?_

She let out an irritated huff of air. Normally she was fairly confident with any action she took, or at the very least did not see the unnecessary need to reconsider once a course of action had been settled upon.

The small redheaded girl lay like that for the rest of the evening. Servants entered to quickly clear away her food, and they escaped again before they could notice the solitary tear that was trickling down her cheek.

_Please, Caitlin, Abby, be well… and return to me soon… please…_

The next morning dawned early. Ross was excited for their next bout, one which he had set up against seemingly impossible odds for her. He was confident in her ability now, however, and assured her that though it would be a challenge, it was one she could overcome.

She was led once again into the arena, clad in the same outfit as the previous night. She was curious to see a pair of individuals at the other end and let a tight grin grow on her face as she realized the implications.

_I am to fight two opponents at once. Good._

She let her grin form into a deadly smirk as she twirled her swords in her hands restlessly. A very small part of her mind worried that she was perhaps becoming too used to this fighting, using it as a means to push aside the worry, the depression, and the anxiety, but she quickly squashed the errant thought.

_It matters not. This feels right as if I were finally doing something… comfortable. Within my design._

If she were still of sound mind, the last part of that might have worried her. As it was, she shrugged off her misgivings and confidently observed her opponents.

Both were large, agile men. One carried a pair of swords, similar to hers but quite a bit longer, while the other carried a single massive sword.

The more dangerous of the pair, in her eyes, was the dual wielder. She would concentrate on him first.

When the bell rang, instead of waiting for the men to make the first move, she darted forward aggressively. First, she feinted towards the man with the larger sword, causing him to step back and swing his blade defensively, off-balance. But she veered aside at the last second to intercept one of the other man's blades.

The clash of metal rang out across the hushed crowd as the pair danced around each other. Blades flashed in the bright light, streaks of red appeared as small cuts scored each one's skin. The second man prowled on the outskirts, searching for a chance to enter the combat as well.

Finally tired of waiting, the other man swung his sword in a deadly arc towards where Rebecca was standing, only for it to whistle through the air as she ducked the blow. His partner had to dance back a pace to avoid ending up cut in two, but that allowed Rebecca to surge forward. One blade rammed into his chest, splitting his heart, while the other went up into his brain through the bottom of his chin.

The redheaded girl went to spin away from the falling corpse, but then disaster struck with an unfortunate combination of circumstances.

As she went to turn, her right-hand blade, crafted with somewhat shoddy skill, became stuck in the corpse's ribcage. It threw her off somewhat even though she immediately released the handle, swinging around with the remaining blade.

And then the slick blood of the dropping corpse made her grasp on that second blade tenuous so that it was unable to block what was coming next.

Which is where the culmination of circumstances spelled out her current predicament.

The second fighter, having been promised a split of the prize with his partner, quickly came to the decision that if he were the only one standing, he would logically be the only one to receive his prize money. Hence the second swing paid no attention to where his, now dead, partner was standing, and it was already arcing in towards the diminutive redheaded girl.

Rebecca's eyes widened in shock as the large blade soared in, batting aside the weakly-held blade she held and cleaving into her stomach.

Likely the only thing keeping her from being ripped in twain was her spine, which managed to deflect the sword and cause the big man to stumble back.

The damage, gruesome as it was, had already been done, and she collapsed to the ground on all fours.

Rebecca's head hung down, her long red hair spilling over her shoulders as she crouched on her hands and knees. She spat out a mouthful of blood as she felt her horrific stomach wound begin to slowly knit closed.

The diminutive redhead willed it to heal faster.

Circumstances seemed to conspire against this, however, as a large booted foot painfully slammed into her midsection, eliciting a sharp scream from her. The kick sent her rolling to the side, curled up protectively and in agony as the dirt floor beneath her turned to bloody mud.

"Not so tough now, are you, little bitch?" a deep voice rumbled.

Rebecca tilted her head to glare up at the towering man's approach. Her pale green eyes were slightly unfocused from the beating she'd received.

Her opponent hefted his giant sword up above his head. "Time to die," he chuckled darkly.

And with that, she snapped.

With an animalistic snarl, she rose from the ground, leaking blood as she moved, and lunged at him.

The man's eyes widened comically as she slammed into him, lashing out with the heel of her foot at his kneecap and causing it to buckle. He went down, hard, but tried to bring his blade back up.

Rebecca simple batted it aside, ignoring the cut that her hand received, and instead climbed on top of him to wrap her small but powerful fingers around his throat.

His face contorted into a painful grimace as he struggled to breathe, falling onto his back, and then his hands hammered at the tiny unrelenting girl as her fingers continued to dig in. She wasn't just content with choking him.

She was going to tear his throat out.

The last sight he had were her eyes, empty and dead of any compassion, any feeling whatsoever as she robotically crushed his windpipe, digging her fingers in until she reached bone.

With a bright spray of blood, her hands flew out to the sides, ripping through tissue and splattering gore over her own body.

By now her midsection was healing, but she no longer cared. There was no longer enough of her to care, really.

Not enough of the humanity that she'd worked so hard to accumulate.

The guards approached her carefully as she remained kneeling on the chest of the corpse. The one more sympathetic guard tentatively reached over with his hand as the crowd's roar of approval bounced off of the walls.

Rebecca looked at him with dull eyes once she felt his touch.

"Let's go, huh?" he shouted over the noise.

She nodded wordlessly and allowed herself to be led backstage once more.

Ross was ecstatic. "That was incredible!" he crowed. He paused then as he took in her comatose state. "What, what's wrong with her?"

"I dunno, she's been like that since she killed the last guy," the guard shrugged.

"Well, no matter," Ross gloated, rubbing his hands together as the redheaded girl was pulled along obediently back to her room. "That girl is gonna make me a whole lotta money…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might notice how, unlike Caitlin who assumed they were spread about over distance once deposited from the portal, Rebecca correctly surmises that time itself was what varied. I'm trying to convey that in the story itself, the fact that instead of minutes separating them, hours or days went before the next person popped out. So, figure on Rebecca being there the longest, about two weeks, with Caitlin about a week and a half and Kitty maybe a week. At this point, since Abby and Blink took the longest before they were sucked through, they've only been there for a couple of days.
> 
> Well, that's two downer chapters in a row. It will pick up soon, honest! The next one will be interesting though as we pick back up with Abby and Blink…
> 
> Stay shiny!


	5. Chapter 5

New York City  
Somewhere Underground

Abby was pacing back and forth irritably, her arms crossed over her chest to prevent herself from hitting anything, or anyone for that matter.

"What is taking so bloody long?" she growled, for perhaps the tenth time.

Blink watched her avidly, her bright green eyes tracking her movements. "You know, if you would sit for awhile, it might help you heal faster…"

"Took enough of a kip to get here, didn't I?" the blonde retorted, glaring over at Alec who sat at the other end of the bench from the purple-haired mutant. He was like an imperturbable rock, hands folded over his belly and eyes closed. The rest of their escort had disappeared once they entered the headquarters of the self-styled Resistance and they were currently being kept apart from all other contacts.

And Abby's patience, a tenuous thing in the best of times, was wearing thin.

"How much longer, then?" she demanded, coming to a stop in front of the large, bushy-bearded soldier with her fists on her hips.

"Until they're ready," he rumbled, not bothering to open his eyes.

Abby shook with the effort to control her temper, a low and steady growl emanating from deep in her chest. Blink was startled to notice her pale green eyes were visibly flashing with anger.

Before the blonde girl could further deteriorate, the single door to the waiting room opened and the lanky, pixie-haired woman that had accompanied them earlier that day entered.

"Finally!" Abby barked.

Dani sighed as she closed the door behind her. "Look, I know you're upset-"

"Upset? Do I look upset?" Abby strode up to the tall brunette, and even though she was likely almost a foot shorter, the small blond girl seemed to fill the room with her fiery presence. "I am bloody well brassed off, here! How much longer do we have to wait for their bleedin' arses to be ready to see us, eh?"

"About that," Dani said hesitantly. "They want to wait for the full council to arrive."

Abby got very quiet, which Blink took to be a rather bad sign.

"They. What."

Blink jumped out of her seat and laid a forestalling hand on Abby's arm. "If we're not permitted to see them yet, can we at least have some comfortable, and private, quarters to rest in?" she politely asked Dani.

"That's why I came to get you," the brunette replied levelly. "The final council member was delayed and I just found out." She turned back to the still visibly seething Abby. "We're not trying to stonewall you, honest."

"Right," Abby huffed out. "Just… Fine, it's brill, it is."

Dani nodded uncertainly and stepped back towards the door. Alec chose that time to finally rouse, and he fell into step behind the group as they left the room and headed down the deserted corridor.

"Noticed that there's not any people around again," Blink mentioned casually. "You keeping us under wraps?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Dani said apologetically over her shoulder. "I can't really get into it right now, okay? But you'll learn why tomorrow. Oh, and we have a meal waiting for you."

They ended up at the end of another concrete hallway lined with what looked to be residential doors. She stopped at a door on the right and opened it. "This one has a private restroom, too."

"So we're to be confined?" Abby asked, her voice somewhat calmer now that she'd had the duration of the walk to cool off.

"'Fraid so. Please don't try to leave, okay?"

"Alright, Dani," Blink smiled as she pushed Abby ahead into the room before she might get spun up again. "Thanks for everything!"

The purple-haired girl shut the door behind them and slumped against it, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I swear, Abby, you gotta work on that temper of yours."

"Yeah, I do," the blonde said apologetically as she fidgeted where she stood restlessly next to the small table at the front of the room. "Sorry, luv."

Blink waved away her apology. "Don't worry about it. Now, before anything else happens, do you want to transform so you can heal all the way?"

Abby sighed as if she could exhale her stress. "Yeah, most definitely. You have some of this nosh here, all right?"

Blink nodded as she sat down. They looked to have much the same fare as they had at the outpost, though there was actually some meat on the plate. She poked at it uncertainly. "Hey, Abby, do you think-"

She let her sentence hang unfinished as she glanced up to see Abby stripping off her clothes.

"Um."

"Oh, sorry, shoulda warned you." Abby turned her back to her with an embarrassed chuckle. "Used to just throwing it all off at home, you know?"

"No, no it's fine!" Blink said hurriedly as she turned back to her food.

"So, any preference?"

"Sorry, what?"

"Well, I can do the cheetah or the kitty. Never seen either one, am I right?"

"Oh, er, yeah." Blink stared at her plate thoughtfully. "How about the kitty?"

Silence greeted her.

"Abby?"

Blink was about to turn around again when she felt something brush up against her leg. She looked down, startled, to see a fluffy cream-colored spotted tabby sitting at her feet. Pale green eyes looked up at her as she meowed quietly.

"Oh. My. God." Blink let out a tiny squeal as she reached down. She hesitated over the cat's body. "Um, is this okay? Can I pet you, or would that be too weird?"

In reply, Abby the cat simply jumped up onto Blink's lap and curled into a content little fluffball.

"Well, okay then," Blink laughed, stroking her back and scratching behind her ears. Abby's purrs became loud and unabashedly happy.

The young mutant ate her meal with one hand while she continued to pet Abby with her other. The cat seemed to be in no hurry to move, much to Blink's amusement.

"You really like this form, don't you?" she mused. "I think Caitlin was that way too, from what Kitty used to tell me. I saw her once, she was a small black housecat. You, though," she smiled, running her hand through the tabby's fur. "You're like a fluffy little cheetah kitten, aren't you?"

Eventually, she finished up her meal and took her hand off of the warm ball of fluff in her lap to stretch. "Okay," she yawned. "I'm beat. Did you want to change back to eat?"

Abby peered up at her consideringly and then with a _mewl_ jumped up on the table.

"Not very housetrained, are you?" Blink snickered.

Abby swished her tail across Blink's nose in reply, causing her friend to laugh outright, as she stalked over towards her plate. Hunkering down, she proceeded to lap up the soup broth.

Shaking her head in amusement, Blink stood up and walked in between the pair of beds that lined each wall towards the other door leading to the bathroom. Once she was finished with her business she pulled her pants off, leaving only her thermal shirt and panties on as she slipped under the covers of the right-hand bed.

"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I didn't ask which bed you wanted! Is… is this one okay?"

Abby the cat, finished with her meal, simply leapt from the table over to Blink's bed, curling up at her feet.

"So, you're just gonna stay a cat all night?" Blink asked humorously.

A soft meow was her only answer.

The purple-haired girl reached over and shut off the solitary lamp with a chuckle. "Okay, but no using my sheets as a litter box, you hear me?"

Abby swatted her leg playfully, making her chuckle again.

"Good night, Abby."

Sometime in the middle of the night, the cream-colored tabby ended up snuggled in her friend's arms, which neither one really seemed to mind all that much.

* * *

Next Morning

Freshly washed and rested, the two girls had dressed and were waiting patiently at the table for their escort. Dani had stopped by earlier to wake them and remove their dinner trays, promising lunch later on that day after their meeting. She assured them it was most certainly on for later that morning.

"So, why all the secrecy, then?" Abby mused, resting her chin in her hand.

Blink shrugged. "Dunno. I bet lots of people have tried to kill them, though. Makes a person cautious."

"Too right it does," Abby murmured. "Doesn't quite feel like that, though…"

There came a knock on their door then, and Dani poked her head in.

"All set?" the brunette asked. "Great, let's go."

As they walked through a different set of corridors, deeper into the complex, Blink was looking about curiously.

"So, Dani, what was all this before?" she asked.

"All this? Used to be a cold war bomb shelter for the city, along with the leadership. Was sealed off long before the Chitauri arrived. The subway tunnels actually run higher up."

"Huh," Blink replied thoughtfully. "Guess that was handy."

"We make use of what we can."

Finally, they ended up at another door, this one marked in permanent marker as 'Council Chambers'. Dani turned to the two girls with a solemn look on her face.

"All I can ask is that you try and keep an open mind, okay? Give them a chance to talk, please." She was looking pointedly at Abby for the last part of her small speech.

The blonde in question had the grace to look somewhat abashed. "Yeah, er, I'll try, then."

With a firm nod, Dani opened the door and ushered them through. The bare concrete room was fairly large with one long table at the end, lined with chairs, and a great open space in front with two chairs sitting on their side of the table but placed a few feet back, as if for debriefing. There was a door behind the table, the only other entrance into the room.

"Suppose they want to make an entrance," Abby snickered as the pair of girls walked towards the table.

Blink laughed. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Kinda theatrics that Caitlin likes to…"

She trailed off as the door in front of them opened and a wholly unexpected person walked though.

Caitlin.

Only, it didn't quite look like her, she seemed a number of years older, perhaps in her early twenties, and the usual laugh lines on her face were changed into a fierce scowl as she looked at the two stunned teens.

And then behind her filed in two more people, Rebecca and…

"Bugger me," Abby breathed. "You're… you're _me_?"

"Not quite," the older-looking Abby said with a hesitant smile. Her gaze kept flickering between the two as she found her seat. "Please… sit?"

Both Abby and Blink numbly found their seats, staring at the three sisters with open mouths.

"Wait one," the younger Abby finally said as she found her voice. "You sure you're not my Becca?"

The redhead sitting in the middle shook her head with a patient smile. "No, I am not," she assured her. "I realize I look the same as yours, but that is… complicated."

Caitlin, sitting on the other side of Rebecca, leaned forward, her familiar pale green eyes flashing with a rather unfamiliar hardness. "What happened?" she asked harshly. "Who else is here with you? How are you even here?"

Rebecca laid a calming hand on her sister. "Please, Caitlin," she murmured soothingly. "In their own time."

The brunette woman sat back with an irritated huff and crossed her arms. "I just damn well got back and you hit me with this. How am I supposed to react?"

The younger blonde cleared her throat. "Okay, well, this is bloody well awkward… So, you lot are the council, then?"

"That is correct," Rebecca smiled. "We have been leading the resistance against the Chitauri as best we can."

"Mostly 'cause we're all that's left," Caitlin grumbled.

Blink leaned over to her Abby. "Um, why is the… other you… looking at me like that?" she whispered.

Abby leaned over as well. "You know they can hear you perfectly well," she whispered back. "And I don't rightly know, luv. Why don't you ask her? I feel odd talking to myself."

The older blonde was finally looking at just Blink somewhat tearfully. "I'm just right happy to see you again, Claire-bear."

Abby and Blink turned to each other. "Claire-bear?" Abby mouthed.

Blink just shrugged wordlessly.

"Abby, we discussed this," Rebecca murmured. "This is not your Blink."

"I know, I know," the older Abby sighed, dashing away her tears. "Look, I… This is bloody well harder than I thought, I can't…"

Rebecca squeezed her sister's arm. "I understand. Go." She turned to her other side to regard her more uncharacteristically brusque sister. "You may retire as well, Caitlin, I know you had a long journey."

The brunette shook her head. "No, if the others are out there-"

"Then I shall find out and we will plan," Rebecca interjected firmly. Caitlin stared her in the eye for a few seconds before nodding and following the older Abby out.

"Well, then" Rebecca sighed, folding her hands in front of her. "I suppose you have some questions."

"Too bloody right we do," Abby murmured.

Blink put a restraining hand on her friend's arm. "But… are you sure you can be telling us some of it? I mean, I never really paid attention to the lectures about time paradoxes and stuff…"

"There is some I may reveal to you now," Rebecca admitted. "Some, I think, will wait once we have gathered the others. From what I have gathered, both your Caitlin and Rebecca are here as well?"

Abby nodded. "Right, they got sucked in before us."

"And how were you... 'sucked' in?"

"Through one of Blink's portals, it malfunctioned…" Abby replied slowly. "Hold up, so you don't remember any of this, then? How is that possible, if you're our future?"

Rebecca drummed her fingers on the table in front of her. Abby noticed that her fingernails were ragged, as if she chewed on them, a habit which her own Rebecca certainly did not have.

"I do not believe I should say any more on that aspect until we have gathered the others," the redhead finally murmured.

"Can you at least, um…" Blink hesitated. "Why were your other, um, sisters, they looked to be only like in their twenties? Maybe mid-twenties?"

"Oh, right," Abby murmured. "Don't think I ever told you, did I…"

Blink turned to her friend with a curious look on her face.

"So, I don't know this first-hand," the blonde sighed. "But from what Caitlin gathered, back when she was first tested, we only age a year for every, oh, ten to fifteen that pass."

The purple-haired girl seemed to take a minute to absorb that before turning back to Rebecca, who nodded in confirmation.

"It is true. I am not about to discuss the details of how long it has been, but you may safely assume over fifty years have passed since the Event." The capitalization of that word was obvious with her emphasis. The redhead quickly switched topics back again to her earlier line of questioning. "Who else came with you?"

"Kitty," the purple-haired mutant stated.

"I see." Rebecca sighed softly. "And you were in New York City at the time, which meant you should all have been deposited here, correct?"

"Yeah, only I can't feel… Oh, blimey." Abby sat upright, stunned as a thought came to her.

"Abby? What's wrong?" Blink asked anxiously.

"It's… this is why I can't feel them, our bond," Abby breathed. "It's like, these lot, the future us, they're interfering with it somehow!"

Rebecca nodded solemnly. "Yes, I have felt it was well. I could sense when it first occurred, Caitlin was still away and I did fear for her safety. She has been reckless ever since… well…" The redhead looked away. "Again, I do not wish to divulge too much before the others are safe. Can you tell me, please, everything relevant that occurred up until this point in time?"

Abby and Blink spent the rest of the morning divulging their activities over the past few days, as well as the events back outside the cafe in their own time. Rebecca listened attentively, occasionally asking for details or clarification. They had just gotten to the point where they arrived at their current facility when a knock was heard on the door to the rear of the room.

"Excuse the interruption, ma'am," Dani said as she poked her head in. "We have a situation in the north annex, your sisters require your presence."

Rebecca closed her eyes briefly but wearily. "What did she do now?" she asked calmly.

"Punched out Commander Hayes. No permanent damage, but his men are… irate."

Blink gave Abby a smirk, to which she simply shrugged, realizing that perhaps the blonde hadn't changed all that much in the intervening years.

Rebecca stood up with a sigh. "Oh, Caitlin…"

The other two girls exchanged another look, this time more startled. What had happened with Caitlin to give her more of a temper than Abby?

"He really did deserve it, though, ma'am," Dani said deferentially.

"They usually do," Rebecca murmured before turning to the other pair. "Well, that will do for now, I believe. Please accompany Dani to the cafeteria before retiring to your room. I hope to have something for us to act on before long." She nodded to the two of them and then strode out of the room, her back straight and with an authority that their own Rebecca was clearly lacking yet.

"Wow, your sister becomes, like, the big boss," Blink said after she'd left.

Abby smiled proudly as she stood up. "Too right. Bloody ace, isn't she?"

Dani smiled as well at their comments. "Rebecca has been the greatest shining light of the Resistance," she said softly as they walked down the hall together. "Don't get me wrong, both Caitlin and Abby, sorry, I mean the future Abby, both are highly capable fighters, but Rebecca's ability to lead and inspire is what has kept most of us alive."

The three of them visited the rudimentary cafeteria and received a meal of beans, bread, and cooked carrots. They passed the time eating mostly in silence, both Abby and Blink wanting to broach a subject but hesitant to do so, especially around anyone else. Finally, Dani deposited them back at their room for the rest of the afternoon.

"So," Blink sighed as she slipped her boots off and curled up on the bed they had shared the previous night.

"Yeah," Abby sighed in reply, plopping back next to her friend and crossing her bare feet in front of her.

They sat there in further silence for almost a full minute, Abby restlessly playing with a thread on the hem of her thermal shirt and Blink toying with the braid she'd redone that morning. It hung over her shoulder now past her shoulders.

Finally, Blink sighed and pushed her braid back behind her. "We should kinda talk about the elephant in the room."

"Suppose we should," Abby agreed. "Assuming you're speaking of the future me and her reaction to you, yeah?"

Blink nodded as she shifted so that she could partially face the blonde. "It… it really sounded like we… I mean, they, were, I dunno…"

"Lovers," Abby finished quietly.

"I think so. Nobody's ever called me Claire-bear before. Hell, nobody even calls me Clarice anymore, just Blink."

Abby didn't raise her gaze from her lap. "So…"

Blink cleared her throat hesitantly. "Abby, do you, um… Do you have feelings for me?"

The blonde raised her hands in exasperation before letting them drop to her sides again. "Blink… I don't know, really, I didn't even bloody well know it was a possibility for one of my kind to… to…"

"Your kind?" Blink asked curiously.

"You know, me and Caitlin and Becca."

The purple-haired mutant nodded briefly, deciding to leave alone the three siblings' shared belief that none of them really considered themselves human. "So, you didn't know what?"

Abby shook her head before leaning it back against the wall behind her. "Both of my sisters, they're so bloody sure of their sexuality. Caitlin, now, she's this right ace confident lesbian, right? And Becca, well… actually, I don't quite know what she is other than Sam-sexual."

Blink snorted a laugh at that, which made Abby smile in return as she finally turned her head to regard her friend with her intense, pale green eyes. "I just have no idea what to do with any feelings of that sort," the blonde finally murmured.

"But… what about your, um, residents?" Blink queried. "Couldn't they have guided you, like Cat's did?"

"No, luv. 'Sides the fact that I never hear from Sean anymore, not since I was, er… damaged, Julia…" Abby cleared her throat in embarrassment. "Apparently she was an asexual."

"Oh."

"Yeah, my makers were right pleased when they found that out, made her a perfect choice as my main battery."

"Battery, really?"

"No, I just use that to tease her. She's my soul, honestly. But yeah, with her not having any interest in the like, they figured that'd make me less distracted." Abby shrugged noncommittally. "Not sure if it worked, really, but I just haven't had the experience, you know?"

Blink looked at the blonde searchingly, her head leaned sideways against the wall as well.

"I don't really know either," she finally murmured. "I mean, I grew up thinking I was a freak, but just in the last year or so… Being free finally, attending Xavier's school, getting friends… I haven't had the time or, I dunno, the inclination really to explore something like that." The purple-haired girl shrugged. "You know, Kitty and Rogue and Cat were the ones who rescued me from that hellhole down in Florida. We've been really good friends ever since, but…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"But?" Abby prompted her.

"But I've never had a best friend before," she finished in a shy voice. "Nobody like you."

They sat there for a few minutes in silence, looking into each other's eyes and contemplating what had been revealed. Abby finally broke off, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"So, now what?" she whispered.

"Well, what do you want?"

"I…" Abby cleared her throat. "I don't want to lose you as a friend."

Blink leaned over and rested her hand on the blonde's arm. Neither one commented on how bad it was shaking as Abby was trembling too.

"You're never gonna lose me as a friend, Abby. No matter what, okay?"

"Right." She cleared her throat once more. "So, now what?" she repeated.

"You said that already."

"And you didn't answer me, now did you?"

"Dork."

"Cheeky girl."

Abby turned her head and smiled at the purple-haired girl, though it faded as they looked intently at each other from only a few inches away.

"I think…"

"Yeah, Abby?"

"I think… maybe I'd like to find out what snogging feels like? Maybe?"

Blink giggled. "Is that your way of asking if you can kiss me?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

Blink leaned in further, her breath tickling Abby's neck. "Neither of us know what we're doing."

"So, it's alright to botch it up, then, right?"

"Yeah, we'll just, um, learn as we go…"

Blink trailed off as Abby leaned the rest of the way over and tentatively pressed her lips against Blink's. Their hesitant kiss firmed as each one became a little more confident, and the thought occurred to the both of them that perhaps this wasn't such a bad thing after all.

The purple-haired mutant lost herself in the feeling of Abby's silky lips. A small part of her brain, the part that was still functioning, was amazed that it had taken her this long to be even curious about this aspect. Sure, lots of her friends were couples or involved with others, but it simply hadn't been important.

She was quite happy to revise that sentiment.

Her right hand moved from Abby's arm up to cup her cheek, stroking her skin with her thumb while her left shifted around the blonde's waist. In return, Abby moved both of her arms so that they might wrap around Blink's back. Before she knew it, they were both twisted around, their chests pressing up against each other.

Blink broke the contact first, pulling apart ever so slightly to look for reassurance in the other girl's pale green eyes. What she saw there, slightly awed but very much pleased so far, made her a bit more bold than she would have otherwise been.

She leaned back slowly, pulling the surprised blonde with her. Realizing what she wanted, Abby acquiesced and eventually they were lying side by side with their heads on the pillow.

"This is okay, yeah?" Abby asked searchingly. "No worries so far?"

"No, no worries," Blink smiled. "I'm, um… really liking it so far."

"Yeah? Me too." Abby swallowed nervously. "You tell me if I start to cock anything up, yeah?"

Blink snorted. "Please don't say that right now."

"Don't…? Oh." Abby grinned. "Sorry, luv. Um, botch it up? Better?"

Instead of replying, Blink leaned in and sealed her lips over Abby's again. The blonde seemed willing to let her lean over her, and without much further ado she found herself halfway on top of the smaller girl, the motion causing their breasts to rub up against each other again. The friction caused Abby to moan slightly and part her lips, allowing Blink greater access.

Once she instinctively slipped her tongue in, both momentarily froze from the intense feeling. Blink made as if to pull away, but Abby enthusiastically linked her hands behind the purple-haired girl's neck, pulling her in closer.

They might have lain like that for hours, but likely it was only minutes, as they both enjoyed the new experience. Eventually, Blink did need to break off, panting from the exertion.

"Wow," she breathed. "That… It feels like I've been running…"

"Too right," Abby murmured, a tentative smile on her swollen lips. "I, er…" She blushed furiously. "I really liked that, Blink."

"So did I," Blink replied with an answering blush.

Before they could continue their conversation, there was a loud rap on their door. Blink flew off of the bed with a small shriek of surprise, landing on her back.

"Come in!" Abby called out as she leaned over the bed. "You alright there, luv?" she asked softly.

"Oh, yeah, no prob," Blink moaned. "I'm just gonna stay down here, okay?"

Dani poked her head inside the room. "Hey, so I just got word…" She looked at Blink's prone form, perplexed. "Are… you okay?"

"Sure, just peachy," Blink replied breezily, waving a hand in the air.

The lanky brunette shook her head bemusedly. "Okay… So, anyway, we got word already of a raid earlier today on a refugee camp. Someone matching either Kitty or your Caitlin might have been there. It was bombed, but a patrol picked up prisoners later on. You two want in on the rescue?"

"Do we ever!" Abby declared, leaping to her feet excitedly. "Finally, some action!"

Blink chuckled as the other girl helped her to her feet. "And here I thought I just got all that friskiness out of you," she murmured quietly.

Abby glanced back at her, open-mouthed and blushing furiously. "You cheeky girl, you," she finally whispered with a wide grin. "So that's how it is, then?"

The other girl gave her a wink as she brushed past her. She was still flush from the emotion of their very brief liaison, but internally she was doing an ecstatic happy dance at the thought of returning to their room again tonight.

The pair strode side by side behind Dani down a different corridor than the one they'd previously traversed. Abby's hand brushed up against Blink's questioningly, and she quickly acquiesced, enjoying the feeling of such a simple intimacy as their intertwined fingers as they walked.

Eventually, they entered a cavernous room bustling with activity. Several soldiers lounged about, and Blink quickly picked out Alec in the group they were headed towards, giving him a friendly nod which he returned with a grunt of greeting for the pair.

"No Snot?" she asked.

"He headed back to the outpost with reinforcements," Dani explained. "They need to seal that hole off and flush out the tunnel."

"You and Alec stayed behind, then?" Abby asked with idle curiosity.

"Well, Mac went back with them as well, he asked me to stay and oversee things. Alec…" Dani grinned slightly. "He took a liking to you two."

"Huh," Blink mused.

"Well yeah, to be sure," Abby deadpanned. "Expressive bloke like him, who'd miss that?"

Blink elbowed her, causing the blonde to chuckle.

"You lot all set?" called a familiar voice from behind. The pair turned to spy the older Abby stalk up, carrying a long staff reminiscent of the energy rifle Blink had used when they first arrived.

"Yes, ma'am," Dani replied. "Geared up. We can take the tunnels most of the way."

"Right, then. Take care, keep your heads down." She gave all of them a stern look. "And remember what I said, yeah?"

The rest of the assembled squad, some dozen or so soldiers, nodded respectfully

The older blonde turned to the pair of girls hesitantly from several feet away. "You two, take care of each other as well, all right?"

"Too right I will," Abby replied firmly.

Future Abby looked to be about to say more, but then she noticed their clasped hands, and instead she regarded them with a soft smile. "Good for you," she murmured.

She made to turn but then stopped. "Oh, 'fore I forget." She flung her staff at Abby, who caught it adroitly. "I want that back, right?"

Abby nodded to her wordlessly. With one final melancholy smile, the older woman turned and left.

"Sooo… what is it?" Blink asked as she released the blonde's hand.

"That's an energy staff," Dani explained. "Like the normal ones from the Chitauri, but this one is used by their commanders. Packs a bigger bang and more resistant to damage, so it can be used as both a rifle and a combat staff."

"Wicked," Abby grinned, giving it a flourish as she took a few steps back. Blink watched open-mouthed as the diminutive girl expertly twirled the weapon around her body before letting it come to a stop at her side.

"What about my girlfriend, she get a gun?" Abby continued.

Blink gave a surprised snort, breaking her out of her earlier reverie. "Girlfriend?"

"Oh, uh…" Abby backpedaled. "Too soon?" she finished meekly.

"No, not too soon," Blink assured her, wearing what she guessed would be the answering blush to the one gracing Abby's face. "Just… unexpected."

Dani cleared her throat with a grin. "What can you use?"

"Oh! Well, I prefer a handgun if you have it," Blink replied. "I'm not that great a shot with a rifle."

The lanky brunette nodded and unbuckled her gunbelt, handing it over to her, sidearm and all. "Don't lose that."

Blink nodded gratefully as she belted it around her waist. Dani moved off to check on the men and women of her squad, barking out orders, including the request for a replacement sidearm. Both of the girls picked up on the fact that she was now referred to as Commander.

"Looks like Dani got a promotion," Abby grinned, shouldering the staff that stood a foot taller than her.

"Well, good," Blink replied, pulling the sidearm out and checking its function. It seemed to be fairly similar to handguns she'd handled before, though the magazine held more bullets than what she was used to. "So, where'd you learn to use a staff like that?" she asked.

"Oh, it's in my programming," Abby replied off-handedly. "Only melee weapon I can use, actually. Was mostly just for training, but I was bloody good at it." She grinned as she looked it over. "Wonder if I can convince myself to let me keep this little beauty…"

"Well, you do know yourself," Blink joked. "What do you think the chances of that are?"

"Slim to none," Abby snorted ruefully.

"Yeah, figured that."

"Maybe if you ask…?"

"Oh, Abby, that's really low."

"But Blink, I really, really like it…"

"No, Abby."

"Bollocks," the blonde sighed.

"All right, let's move out!" Dani ordered, getting her people into motion. She gestured to Abby and Blink for them to walk at her side in the middle of the squad, Alec taking his usual place at their backs.

Abby glanced around curiously before letting a sly smile creep across her face. "So, Commander," she began formally but with a mischievous undertone to her words. "The councilor's orders earlier, they wouldn't have had something to do with, oh I dunno, protecting the two of us, did it?"

Dani snorted and glanced at her sideways. "Picked up on that, did you?" the brunette murmured. "In fact, that's Alec's role here today, he's your bodyguard. So no unnecessary risks, okay? I like my head attached to my shoulders."

"We'll be careful," Blink promised, shooting her new girlfriend an amused look. "Or at least, I'll keep this one out of trouble."

"Who, me?" Abby asked innocently.

Blink rolled her eyes without comment, though she couldn't conceal the humorous grin.

The group headed out through one of the massive gates of the complex and began to mount what seemed to have been a long escalator at one time. The narrow space would only allow them to walk in pairs, which Abby and Blink naturally took together, holding hands once more.

"So, I don't want to pry," Dani murmured over her shoulder. "But were the two of you, um… together, before you met councilwoman Abby?"

"Not exactly, no," Abby murmured back abashedly. "But… well, after figuring out how she reacted… it became bloody well obvious, more or less."

"To each other," Blink clarified. "We'd not even thought of it before."

"Interesting," Dani mused. "Well, I suppose you can say this little trip of yours into the future had some benefit, huh?"

"Too right it did," Abby smiled, squeezing Blink's hand. "So long as the others are peachy… I'd consider it all worthwhile."

"Really?" Blink asked, a wide smile on her face.

"Definitely, luv," Abby smiled back.

Once off of the escalator, they headed into the old subway tunnels for a few hours walk. By the time they'd reached the end, they were pretty well exhausted and ready for a rest.

"Okay, so we're close to the surface," Dani explained quietly as she squatted next to where Abby and Blink reclined against the tunnel wall. "Right up this maintenance stairway, and then only a fifteen-minute run til we get to the internment camp."

"And what opposition do we have?" Abby asked seriously. "We've been told bugger all about this op."

"Sorry, that's my fault," Dani admitted. "Consider this your mission briefing."

Blink smiled. "It's alright, Commander. Just tell us what we need to do."

The lanky brunette nodded as she eased herself into a crossed-legged position. Alec shifted from where he was solicitously leaning against the wall nearby, taking his bodyguard duties very seriously.

Dani gave her squadmate a look and nodded her head, giving him permission to grab a quick bite to eat before the action. "So, this camp," she began. "It's pretty rudimentary, remains of an old convenience store that was hollowed out and reinforced. The fenced perimeter is patrolled by androids. Should be more sentries on the roof providing cover, and several Chitauri on-site. The tricky part will be getting in and then out with the prisoners and before reinforcements can show up. They won't pursue into the tunnels, they know we'll pull the roof in behind us if we catch them following."

"Any vehicles or aircraft?" Blink asked.

"No, nothing like that. There's an aerial patrol on those little sleds of theirs that comes and goes, but we're going to time it so we don't have to worry about them. And if they do show up, that's Alexis and Mark's jobs." She inclined her head to indicate the pair of snipers that accompanied them. "Any other questions?"

"So we just stick by your side and we're golden, eh?" Abby stated doubtfully.

"Assuming all goes to plan, yeah."

Another half hour and they were on their feet again, moving up the staircase and exiting out into the desolate landscape.

Blink had almost forgotten what it looked like aboveground and wasn't so sure she really missed the ignorance. The sky was the same unrelenting grey as before, though there was plenty of rubble to conceal their approach as they broke out into a jog.

After a while, they halted, right at the edge of a large clearing. In the middle sat the concrete rectangle that housed the prisoners they were after. A mesh fence, topped with razor wire, ran around the perimeter of the building. They could spot at least six of the deadly androids with the grinning death's-head visage patrolling on their side alone, which left a likely half dozen on the other side as well. Four of them seemed to be on the roof, facing each cardinal direction.

"Okay, keep your heads down," Dani whispered. "Signal to go will be our snipers, but you two stay put with me, okay?"

The pair of girls nodded anxiously, crouched behind covering rubble as the snipers took position over towards their right. After only a few seconds of waiting, a loud pair of rifle reports sounded, immediately followed by another pair. The four androids on the roof dropped in rapid succession.

"Go!" Dani barked out.

Ten soldiers surged forward, opening fire as they ran. The snipers switched their fire over to the patrols, trying to take more of them out, but they were in motion now and easy kill shots were hard to make.

Even with her enhanced vision, Abby would have missed the movement on the rooftop were she not looking. She saw another pair of androids move up from below, each one carrying something massive that they fastened to points on the roof parapet.

"Dani!" the blonde shouted. "Roof!"

The lanky brunette peered up even as she turned to scream at her snipers. "Lexi, Mark, original targets!"

There wasn't time to register if her orders were heard or not, as the thunderous energy barrage from the heavy weapons quickly demolished the area where the snipers had been positioned.

"Dammit!" the brunette commander yelled, ducking down. "Peters, Davidson! Get under cover!"

Abby peered out to see that the barrage from the androids on the ground was now joined by the heavy weapon emplacements on the roof. "Poor buggers are getting right slaughtered!" she shouted over the riot of noise. She turned to Blink, cupping her cheek with her hand. "You gotta get us up there, luv!"

"But…" Blink shook her head. "But my powers, I don't know…"

"I do," the blonde replied, confidence and some other unspoken emotion shining in her pale green eyes. "I trust you."

The purple-haired mutant took a deep breath and nodded finally. Abby turned to the other pair of soldiers crouched on the other side. "You lot want to stay with us, better keep up, yeah?"

"What?" Dani barked. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Blink tossed a portal behind them. Clearly visible on the other side were the backs of the androids on the roof.

Abby was already in motion, firing her energy staff as she leapt through.

The first android fell immediately, its back scorched and cratered. The second one reacted quickly, spinning around with its own weapon in hand. The blonde girl didn't give it a chance as she put on a burst of her enhanced speed, rushing forward and spinning her staff in a tight arc.

Her first strike batted the android's weapon aside, while her rapid follow-up delivered a quick series of hits to its head and torso. The android staggered back, stunned, as Abby then placed the end of the staff against its chest, firing off a shot that caused it to sail off of the roof, landing on the ground in a smoking heap.

"Cor!" Abby shouted excitedly, turning to Blink as she ran up to her. "I have _got_ to get me one of these, luv-"

Her words were cut off as Blink mashed her lips against hers in a brief but passionate kiss. The two stepped back, both blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Blink stammered out. "That was just so… so…"

"Brill?" Abby smirked.

"Well, I was thinking goddamn sexy, but yeah, that too."

"Oh," Abby breathed, slightly stunned.

"Children, please," Dani laughed as she ran past them to take up one of the heavy weapons. "Save it for after the battle, okay?"

"Right you are," Abby quickly replied. The two abashed girls took up position to guard the roof entrance, along with Alec, while Dani turned the heavy gun on its former owners, decimating their ranks.

It wasn't too long until the survivors of the squad arrived at the hole in the fence, courtesy of a well-aimed blast from Dani, and entered the building. Abby, Blink, and the other two soldiers cautiously entered from above, moving into a large open space where numerous human prisoners were unceremoniously chained to the wall. There was only one other room in the building towards the rear, and the solitary door burst open to reveal several angry Chitauri.

"This is a bit more than a few!" Abby shouted as she darted in, staff spinning about her in a deadly pattern.

"Dammit, Abby!" the brunette commander yelled, motioning for her squad to move up as well. Blink stuck to her girlfriend's rear, her pistol out and taking quick shots of opportunity at what seemed to be perhaps a dozen of the armored aliens.

The blonde girl moved lithely to avoid the first rush, slamming her staff into the midsections of the first two aliens in her path. Her return swing lifted them off of their feet, and she planted her foot in the one to the right while blasting the other with the energy weapon. Blink targeted the first downed alien and sent a pair of shots into its face before it could regain its feet.

The next Chitauri had an energy staff of its own, though it seemed to be an inferior version to the one Abby wielded. Its weapon shot off sparks as the two struck each other, snapping in half at her next overhand strike. She reversed her grip and fired a shot into its face, dropping it to the floor.

Three more aliens closed in from their unprotected right, but Blink tossed a portal in front of them as they bore in, firing wildly. The answering portal was in the ceiling, dropping them on their faces at the feet of a group of Resistance soldiers who made short work of them.

And then, suddenly, they were in the clear. Three androids lay smoking by the door, evidently the tail end of the charge, but there was no further movement.

"Blimey," Abby chuckled. "Where the devil did all these blokes come from, anyway?"

Dani was already peering into the room where they'd come from. "Tunnel," she called out over her shoulder. "Peters?"

A lanky man carrying a satchel around his shoulders reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of hand grenades, tossing them to his commander. She, in turn, pulled the pins and dropped them down the hole, closing the door behind her. The room shook briefly from the detonation, but the lanky brunette was already barking out orders.

"Davidson, Ellis, take the wounded. Peters, lead the prisoners. Are all accounted for?" At his answering nod, she turned to raise an eyebrow at Alec.

"Not even a scratch, old friend?" she quipped.

Alec shrugged. "Just let them do all the work," he rumbled nonchalantly.

Abby and Blink laughed but quickly sobered as Dani turned her gaze towards them.

"You two…" she sighed. "Are gonna be the death of me. Councilwoman Rebecca warned me about this…"

"About what?" Abby asked curiously as they exited the building.

"She said, knowing how her sister was, that there was no keeping you out of the thick of things," the commander stated. "I had no idea how right she was."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Blink apologized contritely, knowing how much harder the two had made her job.

"Don't worry about it. If it weren't for you, I would have lost the entire squad."

"How many?" Abby asked quietly.

"Six killed, two wounded. Like I said, though, could have been worse."

The blonde nodded, but couldn't restrain herself any longer. "Right, so, can you tell me? Was anyone here with the prisoners?"

Dani shook her head sorrowfully. "No, and I apologize for that. We'll talk with them, see if they remember anyone of that description from earlier."

"It's okay, really," Blink reassured the brunette woman. "I mean, yeah that would have been awesome, but at least we got to rescue the prisoners we did, right? That was worth it."

Abby reached over to grab the purple-haired girl's hand. "You're something else, luv," she murmured.

Blink shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, I just wanna feel useful, everything they've done for us. You know?"

"Too right I do, no complaints here."

Once underground, the small group paused at the bottom of the maintenance shaft where they had rested previously so that they might regroup. Dani, Abby, and Blink together moved throughout the twenty-three prisoners to question them about the presence of the short brunette that was rumored to have been at the refugee camp.

"Oh, wait, I remember that girl," one man mused, scratching his balding head. "She was there just before the air raid hit."

"She was? Can you describe her?" Abby asked excitedly.

"Well, I didn't get too good a look at her, but I did notice the one thing as she walked by. Her eyes, they looked kinda like yours, little miss."

The blonde sat back on her heels as emotion overcame her. She clapped her hands over her mouth, unused to such an overwhelming sensation.

Blink put her arm around her girlfriend reassuringly. "Was there anything else you remember?"

"Well," he said, scrunching up his face. "I remember her climbing this pile like she was looking for something, but I was walking away at the time, didn't see where she went. Oh, I did hear something, right before those bastards dropped their God-forsaken bombs."

"Yes, what was it?" Blink prompted.

"It was really odd," he mused. "Didn't make sense, really. Just two words someone screamed, might've been her, I dunno."

Abby removed her hands. "What… what were they?" she whispered.

"Well, and now I'm not too certain of this, but it sounded like, first, 'kitty', like in a cat, not that any have been seen anywhere in years. Oh, and the second, it sounded like, 'faze' or 'phase' or something like that."

The blonde turned towards Blink, a wide smile on her face. "Caitlin and Kitty," she breathed. "They're bloody well alive."

"They were then," Dani cautioned. "No way to be sure if they survived for sure, I don't want you girls getting your hopes up."

Abby shook her head wordlessly, but it was Blink who turned to the commander with a smile.

"Kitty is a mutant like me, she can phase herself and avoid any damage. If she was warned, I'm sure she made it out of there alive. And Caitlin, well… God, that girl is such a survivor, all the crap she's been through…"

"Really?" Dani asked skeptically. "I mean, yeah she's a capable fighter now, but I don't know much of her past, she's always so… closed-mouthed."

"Yeah, well, she wasn't always," Abby frowned. "I intend to find out why, eventually. But right now, at least, we've got more to go on, we do."

Blink sagged back against the wall, relief flooding her. "When do we head back?"

"Another five minutes, and then we'll start." Dani stood, surveying the huddled group of humans. "We'll move slower, with the civilians and the wounded, but we'll still get there by nightfall."

The trek was indeed long and arduous, but they managed to return to the main camp in about the timeframe that Dani had expected. The lanky brunette paused in her ordering of the chaos from their return to motion to the pair of girls that had accompanied her.

"You two, go ahead back to your quarters," she ordered. "I'll handle the debrief. Dinner will be sent to you."

"Yes, ma'am," Abby replied with a cheeky salute.

Dani rolled her eyes humorously. "Oh, go on. Scoot."

Blink grabbed hold of Abby's hand and dragged her off before she could make any further snarky remarks.

"What's the rush?" the blonde asked curiously.

"Two things," Blink murmured as they quickly walked down the hallway. "One, nobody said anything about returning our weapons yet."

"Ooh, nice," Abby grinned. "I like you being right sneaky, luv. What's the other?"

"The other reason, love," Blink grinned, a faint blush showing on her cheeks. "Is that I want you alone in the room for a little while before dinner shows up."

"Oh? Oh!" Abby gawked at the purple-haired girl, incredulous at her audacity. "Bit randy, are we?"

"I'm not sure what that means," Blink giggled. "But if you mean, do I want to kiss you senseless, then yeah, I am."

Abby laughed as she allowed herself to be pushed through their door, dropping the energy staff on the other bed. "You know, I kinda like this aggressive side of you."

"Do you now?" Blink smirked as she shut and locked the door behind her. She quickly pulled her gunbelt off, dropping it on the bed next to the staff, before grabbing the blond in a tackle hug and flinging her to the bed.

Abby landed on her back with an "Eep!" as the wind was knocked out of her.

"How's that for aggressive?" Blink breathed, hovering over the smaller girl on all fours.

"Bleedin' sexy as hell, that's what," Abby sighed, pulling her girlfriend down into a long, sensual kiss.

Perhaps a half hour later a knock came at the door, causing the pair to regain their footing and adjust their clothing.

"Your lips are so swollen," Blink giggled as she headed for the door.

"So are yours, luv," Abby snickered back. Blink rolled her eyes with a smile as she answered the door. She accepted the pair of trays, reassuring the orderly that they didn't need to be picked up until the morning and that actually, they'd like the evening to not be disturbed.

"Oh, really?" the blonde grinned as she sat at the table. "Want your privacy, then?"

"Well," Blink replied shyly as she sat the trays out. "We did have a very exerting day…"

"Mmhmm, do tell," Abby grinned, enjoying the banter as she took a bite from the warm mini loaf of bread.

"And I was thinking…" The young mutant cleared her throat, unable to look up. "Well, I mean, seeing as how we did last night, and, um…"

"Blink," the blonde said softly, almost in a wondering tone as any trace whatsoever of teasing left her voice. "Are you asking if we could share a bed tonight?"

Her girlfriend nodded rapidly as she concentrated on pulling her bread into bite-sized pieces. "I mean, not that we'd need to do anything, just, you know…"

Abby sat back with an affectionate smile. "I'd like that," she said simply.

The other girl looked at her finally with her wide, bright green eyes, framed by purple markings. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, okay then."

They ate their meal in silence, sharing the occasional grin or look before both agreed they were done with as much as they wanted.

Standing next to the bed, facing each other awkwardly, Blink was suddenly hesitant. "Um, so what now?" she whispered.

"Well," Abby said thoughtfully. "What if… I help you undress? Um, for sleeping, yeah?"

Blink's breath hitched in her chest. She could only nod slowly, making her new girlfriend smile widely as the blonde sank to her knees in front of her.

"Foot, up," Abby said softly, tapping Blink's left foot.

She braced herself on Abby's shoulder as she obediently lifted up her booted foot, blushing furiously all the while. The blonde girl slowly pulled her boot and sock off, giving her foot a gentle caress that made Blink shudder unexpectedly.

"You okay?" Abby asked quietly, implicitly asking for permission to keep doing what she was doing.

"Oh, God, yes," Blink breathed as she set her foot down gingerly.

Abby gave a pleased grin as she repeated the process with the other foot. Blink stood before her then barefoot, gazing down into the pair of pale green orbs that were starting to become more and more entrancing to her, especially when they held the amount of heat in them that they did right now.

Ever so slowly, and without breaking eye contact, Abby eased the zipper down on Blink's pants, undid the button, and eased them past her hips. Blink's breathing became more ragged as Abby let her nails lightly rake down her thighs as she pulled downward.

"You…" Blink swallowed. "You are such a liar."

"Pardon?" Abby asked, taken aback.

"You've done this dozens of times," Blink clarified with a small and breathy giggle. "You're, like, this experienced lesbian and totally seducing me."

Abby barked out a quick laugh but shook her head with a smile. "No, luv, you're my first for anything like this. Although," she amended. "I'm really am trying my bloody best to seduce you. Is it working?"

"You bet your cute ass it's working," Blink murmured, lifting one foot at a time as Abby pulled the pants away.

"You think my arse is cute, then?" Abby giggled, running her hands back up her legs until they rested on her hips.

"Damn right I do," Blink breathed. "I mean, I never really considered it before, you know… but yeah, if there was such a thing as a cute ass, I think yours would be the solid example."

"Well, I dunno there, yours might give me a run for the money…"

"Nope. No argument. Yours is the cutest around."

"You do know, luv, that I have the exact same body as my sisters."

"Yes," Blink smiled as she reached down and pulled Abby up by the upper arms. "But yours is attached to you, therefore, it is the cutest."

"Now how can I argue with logic like that," Abby said, leaning into the kiss that Blink offered. They stood there, swaying slightly, as they slowly eased their tongues past each other's lips, gently probing as they became more comfortable with the action. Abby's hands eased from her girlfriend's waist up behind her, gently caressing the small of her back.

Blink let out a small moan, which caused Abby to lean back with a surprised smile. "What was that, then? Did I find a spot?"

The purple-haired girl swallowed, her eyes fluttering as Abby ran her hands in patterns, tracing the curves and slopes of her back. "I, um… I dunno, really… But yeah. that feels… nice…"

"Hmm, maybe I'll give you a back rub later, then," the blonde commented, pleased with the reaction she was getting.

"You'd have to take my shirt off first," Blink breathed, her cheeks flush with emotion.

"Oh," Abby replied intelligently. "Er, yeah, I suppose… yeah, we could, um, do that…"

"Well, you know, it'd be more comfortable to sleep that way," Blink stated, now blushing even more furiously.

"True," Abby murmured. "'Course, it'd only be fair if I were as well. Er, undressed, that is."

"Oh! Yes, well…" Blink stood back, her chest heaving. She didn't realize just how aroused she'd been getting, but she was finding it very difficult to breathe. "How about I, um return the favor?"

"You do remember I don't wear undies?" Abby grinned, her cheeks bright scarlet.

"Um, well, I do now… so…"

"Well, what if I were to just turn the light off, I drop my clothes off me, and we settle down, yeah?"

"Right! Because we're just going to, um, sleep…"

"Too right. Sleep only."

Blink eased herself into the bed, scooting to the far edge. She pulled the sheets up over her chest before pulling her shirt off, and then after only a moment's hesitation pulled her bra off as well, tossing both to the foot of the bed.

"Um, okay, all set."

"Blink."

"Yeah, Abby?"

"You want me to go turn the light off?"

The purple-haired girl clutched the sheets to her chest in embarrassment at what she couldn't help uttering next. "Not yet, please?" she squeaked before pulling the sheets up to cover all but her eyes.

Abby stared at her incredulously. "Do you… You want me to undress for you, then?"

Blink just nodded wordlessly behind her cunning shield.

The blonde girl chuckled lightly as she pulled her sweatpants off, exposing what Blink considered to be a criminally beautiful expanse of skin.

"And you know I have no problem with nudity, that's why you asked, right?"

"I was hoping," Blink replied in the same squeaky voice.

Abby laughed again, rolling her eyes as she pulled her thermal shirt off before standing in front of Blink in all her naked glory. She turned slowly before facing her again, hands on her hips.

"We good with the show, then? I can come to bed?"

"Um, can you turn around once more, maybe a little slower this time…"

Abby snickered softly as she complied, then reaching over to turn off the light.

"You, Blink, are a very naughty girl," the blonde breathed as she slid under the covers.

Blink's breath seemed to catch in her throat as their bodies pressed up together. "Maybe," she whispered. "But only because of the way you're making me feel."

"And just how do I make you feel, luv?"

"I dunno how to describe it… but I don't want it to ever end…"

"Well," Abby murmured, stroking her hand along her girlfriend's side over the sheets. "I think, maybe, it could only get better from here."

"You think?"

"Pretty bloody well sure, yeah."

"Oh, God, I think I'll explode before then."

Abby giggled, causing Blink to as well until they were both clinging to each other and laughing hysterically.

"Oh, luv," Abby sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes before finding her girlfriend's face in the dark. "Tell you what, we take it slow as you like, and you take it slow as I like, and 'tween the two of us, we'll get there together."

"Even if we don't know what we're doing?"

"Especially 'cause of that."

"Well, okay then. How can I argue with that?"

They both sighed softly, giving each other one more tender kiss before Abby turned so that Blink was spooning her. It took a few minutes of experimentation before they could figure out where their limbs should go, with a few surprised squeaks as intimate parts were accidentally poked or prodded. But eventually, they were able to settle down into a comfortable embrace.

"Hey, Abby?" Blink whispered after another few minutes.

"Yeah, luv?"

"Do you… Do you wanna call me Claire-bear?"

"Would you like me to?"

"I just… I never had a nickname before, not one I hadn't chosen for myself. And yeah, I know it wasn't _you_ you that came up with it, but the future you, but that still counts, right?"

Abby snickered as she reached behind her, fumbling until she could gently place her finger over the babbling teen's lips.

"I'd like that as well, Claire-bear."

Blink gave her finger a small kiss before it was retracted. "Okay, then."

As they drifted off to sleep, the purple-haired mutant smiled to herself softly.

_This may have been totally unexpected, maybe even totally unlooked-for… but I'm gonna treasure every part of it I can. Because you, Abby Brown, are very much a girl worth falling hard for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, happy parts again! Actually took me awhile to really get into the groove writing this, as I was still in doom-and-gloom mode from the previous chapters. I had to keep telling myself, no you cannot kill off everyone in sight, stay good…
> 
> Next chapter we're back to Caitlin and now Kitty, hopefully, they can reunite with the others soon…
> 
> Stay shiny!


	6. Chapter 6

Chitauri Regional Capital, Human Enclave  
The Bell

Caitlin entered through the door of the small tavern warily, her hood pulled to shadow her face. She'd spent a good fifteen minutes scoping out the perimeter of the building, and another fifteen before that to observe the neighborhood.

She hadn't left on the best of terms the last time.

Today, however, all seemed quiet enough. There were few patrons, almost a dozen, and half of those were simply gathered by the fireplace, drinking from mugs and conversing quietly.

The diminutive brunette paused, reaching next to her to take hold of Kitty's elbow and steer her over to her usual seat at a table by the front of the establishment. The other brunette had been mostly quiet during their journey south but had finally opened up some towards the end. Enough so that she was no longer worried about her mutant friend's mental state. As for herself, Caitlin had spent most of the journey describing her experience in this dysphoric future so far.

They settled into chairs with their backs to the wall, Kitty pulling her hood forward as well to make sure the dim lighting didn't reveal anything of her features. Neither girl had any idea what sort of bulletins might be out regarding Caitlin, but Kitty was similar enough in features, except for the eyes, that she might be mistaken for her friend.

"You're sure this place is safe?" Kitty whispered tensely.

"Relax," Caitlin murmured in reassurance. "They're friendly here."

She cracked a small smile as she saw a familiar woman approach, one of the couple who owned and ran the small tavern. But before the older woman could make it halfway across the floor, she was practically knocked aside by another, smaller form with dirty blond hair.

"Sorry mom!" the twelve-year-old girl squeaked before she skidded to a halt at their table. "Hi," she finally said breathlessly, her eyes shyly averted. "Um, it's nice to see you again, Scrapper."

Kitty made a small noise of amusement but Caitlin studiously ignored her traveling companion.

"It's good to see you too, Sara," the brunette smiled. "How have you been? Any more trouble?"

"No, none at all!" the younger girl gushed, finally looking up with sparkling eyes. "They haven't even come by! I think you scared 'em all off real good!"

"Good to hear," Caitlin chuckled. "So, this is my friend, er… Shadowcat."

Sara sucked in a shocked breath. "Are you a hero too?" she asked Kitty with awe in her voice.

"Um," Kitty replied, nonplussed. "Yes?"

The young waitress let out a soft squeal. "This is so cool!" she whispered loudly, bouncing up and down on her toes. Caitlin noticed the mother standing a little ways off, regarding them warily but without any sort of hostility, which relieved her somewhat.

"Do you have a room available?" Caitlin prompted the excitable girl.

"Yes, yes we do! Oh, look I should tell you, though…" Sara leaned in conspiratorially. "There's been this one guy asking about you. Well, about three girls, really, but one of them was definitely you."

"Three girls?" Kitty breathed wonderingly.

"Sara, can you describe the girls for me?" Caitlin asked, attempting to keep the eagerness out of her voice.

"Oh, sure! Well, like I said, one was definitely you, short and brown curly hair with those really cool green eyes of yours." The small girl blushed slightly. "Well, I think they're cool, anyways. They're super pretty."

Kitty was shaking with silent laughter, which Caitlin deemed to once again ignore.

"Thank you," she replied simply, humor lacing her own words. "And the other two?"

"Well, one was just like you, same height and eyes, but with long red hair. And then the other, also like you with the height and hair, but with brown eyes instead of the really pretty green."

"Hmm," Caitlin mused, leaning back. She gave Kitty a nudge with her elbow. "Like her, maybe?"

Taking the hint, Kitty pulled her hood back slightly, just enough that Sara could see her face. The young girl gasped.

"Yes! Exactly! Oh, wow, so there's a whole bunch of you?"

"Well, at least five of us," Caitlin affirmed as Kitty pulled her hood forward again. "We're trying to find the others, but at least now we know they're here."

"How do you figure?" Kitty asked curiously.

"How else would they have our descriptions? Either they have, er, Ghost and Blink in captivity or they were sent by them."

"That's… kind of a leap in logic."

"Nah, perfectly logical."

Kitty rolled her eyes, even though nobody could see it. "Caitlin-logic, maybe," she muttered amusedly, knowing her friend could hear her perfectly well. Her assumption was rewarded with a humorous snort.

"Alright, Sara," the other brunette started. "If you could arrange a room for us, and also let us know if this person comes in again, we'd really appreciate it. Oh, and we would also like a drink and meal."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Sara wailed softly. "That was so rude of me, I should have asked right away!"

"It's fine," Caitlin laughed, waving away her concern. "Just, could we get a couple waters, please? And whatever your dad has left of lunch would be awesome."

"You bet!" Sara replied cheerfully, skipping towards the back, her blonde ponytail bouncing along behind her. Her mother closed in behind her, assumedly to grill her on the strange pair of girls.

"Well, she was… enthusiastic," Kitty remarked.

"She's a sweet kid," Caitlin replied genially. "See what I mean? Good folk."

The brunette mutant gave a small noncommittal grunt. "So, now what? We wait for this guy to show up and give him a grilling?"

"Well, I don't intend to just sit by and do nothing. Nice thing about this tavern is that there's a nice variety of visitors, you hear all sorts of interesting stuff."

"Anything so far?" Kitty asked with idle curiosity, scanning the meager crowd. She knew perfectly well how exceptional her friend's enhanced hearing was, and would bet money that she'd been eavesdropping on everyone since they arrived, even while carrying on a conversation. Well, not that she had any money to bet. Speaking of which…

"How exactly are we paying for all this?" Kitty asked in a whisper.

"I've got coinage from this period," Caitlin assured her. "Um, let's not go into the how of it, exactly. But to answer your first question… There's a rather interesting conversation going on by the fireplace. Not sure how relevant it is, though."

"Hmm, do tell…"

"Seems there's some sort of fighting arena in the enclave here."

Kitty blinked her eyes in surprise. "Like… gladiators? Ancient Rome kinda stuff?"

"Seems that way. Two enter, one leaves, that sorta thing… The current topic is the rising new champion." She paused as Sara arrived again with their waters, giving her a smile from the shadows of her cloak. "Thanks, Sara."

"You're welcome! Oh, and we've got a treat for you, roasted canine, real fresh! I'll have a couple of plates for you in a jiffy!" She turned and skipped off once again before she could hear Kitty's gagging.

"Are you serious?" the brown-eyed girl asked incredulously. "Dog?"

"Look, meat is pretty damn scarce hereabouts," Caitlin sighed softly. "They make do with what they can get. Beef is nonexistent, pork a rare and expensive delicacy… So yeah, they eat what meat they can. Trust me, it's better than rat. Less gamey."

Kitty took a quick gulp of her drink to ease her rising nausea. "I think Becca has the right idea," she moaned softly.

Caitlin laughed lightly in response. "You can try vegetarianism, but if you're used to getting the protein from meat, your body is gonna be hurting." She turned her hood to regard her friend curiously. "What have you been eating before I found you?"

"I didn't ask," Kitty sighed. "Mostly soup or stews, they had some meat in it… now I don't wanna think about it too much…"

"Well, might be game is more plentiful outside the enclave," Caitlin shrugged as Sara approached with two small plates piled with steaming meat. "I'd suggest you just use your imagination."

Both girls nodded their thanks to the young girl before she left once more, though Kitty's was a bit more forced. "My imagination?" she hissed once Sara was out of earshot once more. "I had a dog growing up! _That's_ what I'm imagining!"

"Not like…" Caitlin let out an exasperated huff of air. "I meant, imagine it's something else. The taste is somewhere between beef and mutton."

Kitty turned her head to her brunette friend incredulously, who just shrugged in return. "Hey, I like meat," Caitlin mumbled in defense as she took a bite. "Oh, and it's really good, been braised for awhile. Okay, definitely like beef today, so… just imagine it's a cute little moo-cow instead."

Her friend didn't miss the smirk in her tone, and so declined to reply as sharply as she might have otherwise. "You are so obnoxious," she grumbled.

"Now you sound like Becca."

"Well, she's right again. And I would know, I've known you even longer than she has. You're incredibly obnoxious."

"Guilty as charged," Caitlin replied cheerfully around her next bite. She let out a small hum of contentment as she chewed.

"Oh, fine," Kitty groused, taking a hesitant bite with her eyes closed. She chewed thoughtfully, thoughts of grilled steaks flitting through her head. "Okay, yeah maybe it's not so bad…" she finally admitted.

"Knew you'd come around," Caitlin murmured smugly.

"And now you're being obnoxious again."

"What can I say, it's my default setting… Oh!"

"What is it?" Kitty asked, her eyes traveling around in concern.

Caitlin held up a finger and sat motionless, her head tilted in concentration before turning to her friend. Her hood had slipped back enough that Kitty could see her excited grin.

"So that new champion I was talking about," she began, her words tumbling past her lips joyously. "Small little slip of a girl, red hair, and goes by the name 'Crimson Blade'."

Kitty eyes widened. "Becca?" she breathed.

"I'm sure of it. She's here, Kitty, right here in the enclave!" Caitlin was practically vibrating in her seat in excitement. "We have to go get her!"

"Whoa, hang on there Cat," her friend cautioned. "Can't just go charging in until we get a better idea of what's going on, right? And do we even know where this arena is?"

"Well, no, but we can ask!" The pair turned as Sara approached. The question was on the tip of Caitlin's tongue, but then she picked up on the young girl's nervousness and her senses went into overdrive, searching and cataloging threats.

Two patrons had left and one had entered since they sat down, the latter just a minute or so ago. No sense of hostility that she could tell, no weapons evident.

Kitty picked up on Caitlin's tension and prepared herself as well, shifting her seat so that she might move if needed.

"What's up, Sara?" Caitlin asked in a smooth murmur.

"That man?" the younger girl began hesitantly. "The one asking about you? Here's here, at the table in the back…"

"Okay, you did great," Caitlin replied gently. "Now, I want you and your mom to go into the kitchen and wait there for, say, five minutes, okay? Oh, and what room did we get?"

"Same one you stayed in last time," Sara whispered, her eyes darting about nervously.

"Good girl. Go ahead, it'll be okay."

Sara nodded and moved off again, intercepting her mother at the kitchen door and pushing her inside.

"What's the plan?" Kitty asked, her hands clenched under the table.

"We get him to our room," the other brunette murmured firmly. "And ask some questions."

"Ask?"

"Well, yeah. Politely."

"He's gonna see us approach."

Caitlin grinned ferally. "Not if you distract him. Little after I get up, pull your hood back. Anything happens, you phase out and meet me behind the building, okay?"

Kitty nodded resolutely. "Got it."

She gave a slow count of ten after Caitlin rose from her seat before pulling her hood back with a quick motion to make sure it was noticed. She stared at the back of the room, noting the shocked expression on the face of a man sitting there. He had a rather bland face, mousy hair and day-old stubble, dressed shabbily in mottled greys and browns like most of the enclave habitants she'd seen so far, but she could tell from here the intelligence that glittered in his dark eyes.

Before the man could act, Caitlin was there at his side. She stood in front of him, bent forward and with her hand on his arm. Knowing her, Kitty was fairly sure it was an iron grip and she was threatening to tear it off.

Politely, of course.

Soon the man was on his feet, a pained expression on his face as Caitlin escorted him up the steps. Kitty jumped to her own feet and quickly followed them up. They made a sharp turn to the right and stopped by the third door down.

Caitlin went through first, checking the room before pulling the man in. Kitty followed and shut the door behind them, fumbling with the lock until it was fastened.

"Right then," Caitlin began as she flung the beleaguered man into the bed. She placed her hands on her hips after slipping her hood back and grinned darkly. "Who are you, how do you know us, and what do you know about Becca, Abby, and Blink?"

The man propped himself up on his elbows, seemingly relaxed. Kitty was unsure if he was very brave or quite ignorant of the danger this small, unassuming girl posed to his health.

"I'm Derek," he began in a cultured voice at odds with his appearance. "With the Resistance."

"Okaaay," the mutant brunette murmured as she leaned up against the door with her arms folded. "Who are they, now?"

"Remember what we talked about on the trip down?" Caitlin prompted gently. "About the Loyalists and Resistance? Puppet government? Ringing a bell?"

"Oh, um… yeah, sorta," Kitty mumbled, looking at her feet in embarrassment. "I might've been a little self-preoccupied at the time."

"It's alright, Kitty," her friend smiled reassuringly. "We'll go over it again later, I understand. Just know that he's more or less one of the good guys fighting against the Chitauri."

"Oh, well, good enough then. Carry on."

Caitlin looked back at the sprawled man with a raised eyebrow. "That's only one of the three questions I asked."

"Right," Derek murmured. "Sorry, I'm just… you're not what I expected."

The brunette laughed. "Yeah, I get that alot. So?"

"So… I was sent to search for you, Miss Pryde there, and your sister Rebecca. Many of us were, though we're trying to be as discreet about it as possible."

"Not discreet enough," Kitty murmured.

"Evidently not, no. But as for your last question… Your other sister, Abby, and your friend Blink are with us."

"With the Resistance?" Caitlin queried, her voice low and dangerous. "Voluntarily?"

"Oh, yes, definitely. They're why we knew to look for you."

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully.

After a moment's pause, Kitty glanced at her friend. "He telling the truth?"

"Unless he's a far better liar than I've ever met," Caitlin murmured. "So, where are they, then?"

"Er, well, that's the thing," he said hesitantly. "I don't know."

"You… don't know?"

Derek shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm based out of the enclave cell here, never been to central HQ myself, though I've heard the stories about… well, nevermind. What I can do now is get back to my bosses, let them know I found you, and then wait for further instructions." He looked up at the two girls sheepishly. "Look, you can come back with me and we'll protect you until we get you to the others, alright?"

"And what about Becca?"

"Haven't found her just yet…"

Caitlin smirked. "Well, I think we have. You go talk to your bosses and meet us back here once you figure out what you're doing. In the meantime…" She shared a glance with Kitty. "Where can we find the arena?"

"The arena? Oh, you mean the Colosseum!" Derek looked between the two, confused. "What, you want to watch the fights?"

"Oh yes," Caitlin grinned. "Very much so."

* * *

Human Enclave  
The Colosseum

"This place is insane!" Kitty shouted over the din. The two girls had fought their way down towards the front of the seating, dislodging several other belligerent patrons to get there. The mutant had to discreetly phase herself several times just to follow in Caitlin's wake, while the latter simply bulled her way through. More than a few of the audience were left clutching bruised limbs after she'd passed by.

"My kinda place," Caitlin grinned over her shoulder. She stopped in front of one particularly nasty-looking large man dressed in the livery of the militia. "You're in my seat," she shouted to him.

"Fuck you, bitch," he scowled back, making as if to shove her away. Caitlin grabbed his hand first, gripping his thumb and pulling it back painfully.

His painful howls were lost to the roar of the crowd as the announcer got on to announce the fight would begin soon.

"Yeah, okay, sure!" he yelled. "My mistake!"

Caitlin let him go with a smirk and watched him scamper off before turning to sit down. The patrons on either side shifted away warily, allowing for enough room for Kitty to sit as well.

"Enjoy yourself?" the brunette mutant asked amusedly.

"Always!" Caitlin cheerfully replied.

They sat patiently for the few minutes it took until the announcer came back on.

"Ladieeesss and gentlemen!" the announcer boomed once more over the rudimentary speaker system. "Are you ready for a fight?"

The crowd roared anticipatorily, stamping their feet in wild expectation of the bout to come.

Kitty leaned over and put her mouth up against Caitlin's ear. "She must be popular!"

Caitlin nodded. "Did you see the betting?" she yelled back. "She's definitely favored to win!"

"In this corner, we have the finest gladiatorial team to ever bloody their way through the Colosseum!" the loud voice continued overhead. "I give you, the Black Mambas!"

Four lean, muscular men, all with dusky skin, raised their swords and shields overhead to the cheering ovation they received.

Kitty and Caitlin glanced at each other. "Four of them?" the teen mutant mouthed. Caitlin just shrugged in reply.

"And then in this corner, your favorite up-and-coming star, the Unkillable Girl, the Terror of the Arena… Crimson Blade!"

The crowd surged to their feet as one, the roar of their approval shaking the very rafters. Both Kitty and Caitlin leaned forward as the far door opened, and a very familiar figure stalked into the sunken ring.

Kitty grasped her friend's arm. "It's her!" she shouted excitedly. "That's Becca!" She looked over, expecting to see a similar enthusiasm but was startled to note a look of deep concern on her friend's face. "Cat?"

"Something's wrong…" She saw Caitlin's lips form the words, but as the crowd sat back down her attention was once again diverted to the floor below.

Rebecca was certainly moving unlike she'd expected, her stance somewhat lethargic. The small redhead held a short sword in each hand that glinted dully in the overhead lighting. She had on a gold bikini of some sort with accentuating red ribbons but was barefoot as was her usual wont. Still, there definitely did seem to be something off…

As the announcer yelled out for the fight to begin, she sucked in her breath when Rebecca didn't move a muscle from where she stood. Four figures darted in at her, shields raised and swords whirling overhead.

"Oh, God," Kitty breathed, her grip on Caitlin's arm tightening.

Everything after that seemed to happen in a blur.

Just before they got into striking range Rebecca's head snapped up, her pale green eyes glinting dangerously. She swept her foot out at the one furthest to the right, sending him stumbling to the ground. From her crouch on the ground, the redhead sprang upwards, sailing over the heads of the advancing team to land directly behind them.

Before the two in the middle could turn, Rebecca had reversed her grip on the swords and thrust backwards, severing the spines of each of her opponents. They crumbled to the ground with sharp screams that trailed off as the light faded from their eyes.

Rebecca whirled the swords in her hands, flinging the blood off of them as she gripped them normally again while turning to face the last two of the group. The first had regained his footing again and circled the dangerous little redheaded girl while his partner faced her on the opposite side. They were obviously experienced as a team and kept a cautious distance while maintaining a firm grip on their shields.

The small gladiator just stood unmoving, waiting for them to attack first.

Once they did, it was simultaneous at some unseen signal, each one flying in at different angles. Rebecca spun at the last second, her foot slamming into the shield on one to send him flailing backwards while she blocked the thrust of the other's sword. Twirling around, she sent a rapid flurry of strikes at the attacker still on his feet. Within a scant second or two the hand clutching his sword went flying to the side, followed by his head in twin fountains of blood.

Rebecca leapt towards the remaining combatant, who was scrambling backwards, his mouth open in a silent scream as he tried to keep his shield between him and the redheaded dervish. It did him little good as she simply thrust downwards, her sword piercing straight through the reinforced metal and into his heart. Blood bubbled up from his mouth as he slumped back, his eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

The crowd once again surged to their feet with a bloodthirsty cheer of approval at their champion's victory.

Kitty looked numbly over at Caitlin, but her eyes were still focused intently on her sister. Turning her attention back, the brunette mutant noted that Rebecca was once more standing there listlessly while guards approached her, stun sticks at the ready. She seemed to start at their touch and then allowed herself to be led off back to the tunnel she came from.

"Okay," Kitty stated just loudly enough for Caitlin to hear her. "What the hell was that?"

She was startled to see that her friend's cheeks were wet with tears when she turned her face to her and leaned in towards her ear. "She's broken," Caitlin replied sadly. "Becca, she's lost our connection… I have to get to her, Kitty!"

"How? I don't think they're just gonna let you in! Are you going to fight everyone here?"

Caitlin pulled back, and at the determination in her malachite eyes, Kitty knew she was prepared to do just that.

"Okay, hang on now," Kitty pleaded. "There's gotta be a better way… what if you got down there legitimately?"

"Legitimately how?"

"Staff, guards, servants… Oh!" Kitty grinned at the thought that hit her. "Why don't you fight! Then you can get into the quarters, right? Did you hear that all the fighters are kept in quarters below?"

Caitlin looked down at the team of servants cleaning up the remains of the doomed gladiatorial team.

"Right," she finally stated with a small, resolute grin. "Here's what we're gonna do…"

Half an hour later saw her down in the bowels of the arena and speaking with a rather large, gruff-looking man who eyed her warily.

"So you're sayin' you can fight?" he asked skeptically. "Look, just 'cause this new lil' thing, Crimson Blade, can make it…"

"We're sisters," Caitlin stated, having decided this would be the best way to get into the fighting and close to Rebecca. "And I'm better."

"Arya now? Well, what do you fight with, swords as well?"

"Nope. Mostly barehanded."

The burly man stared at her from his seat behind the cluttered desk. It looked to have been some office executive's desk at one point, once polished mahogany but now scarred and battered.

"You want a demonstration?" Caitlin asked with more patience than she actually felt.

The man shook his head. "Tell you what, I'm gonna put you in the next fight, see what you're made of. It was gonna be boring anyways. You do well and maybe I'll take you on in my stable."

"Can I see her?" she asked, but immediately regretted her impatience as he regarded her suspiciously.

"No," he replied shortly. "She's held elsewhere. Burt!" he yelled suddenly, making Caitlin jump slightly.

A rail-thin man poked his head through, heavily scarred and dressed in worn leather armor.

"Yeah?" Burt asked in a raspy voice.

"Get this one outfitted. She's on in thirty."

"Sure, boss. Right, come on, you."

Caitlin turned to follow but stopped at the burly man's prompting.

"You got a name, kid?"

"Yep," she grinned back cheekily. "Call me Scrapper."

* * *

The Colosseum  
Next Match

Caitlin flexed her fingers as she looked over her rudimentary weaponry. Burt, who turned out to be the burly man's trainer, had called them Cestus after the old Roman word for them. Essentially they were cloth wrappings around her fists which held in place iron spiked knuckle guards.

She smiled grimly. _Yeah, these'll do just fine._

As the announcer's voice came on, describing the next combatants, Burt gave her a nudge. "Alright, kid, you're up. Have fun."

Caitlin smirked at him. "Oh, I intend to."

She strode forward, clad in only skimpy cloth shorts and a wrapping around her modest chest, similar to the strips of linen around her hands. As she entered, she noted that the announcer was talking her up as having come from the same vein as the Crimson Blade, though he didn't mention that they were siblings.

"...I give you… Scrapper!"

The crowd made an appreciative surge of noise as she held her clasped hands over her head. Turning in a circle, she spied Kitty in the front row once more, looking on anxiously. She gave her friend a quick reassuring wink as she faced her opponent.

The towering man must have been seven feet tall easily and smirked at her while hefting a large steel club over his shoulder.

"Dismissing me already?" she murmured to herself. "Figured my sister would have disabused you all of that notion by now…"

_/Getting cocky are we?/_

_Oh, please, Chris, I could take this guy blindfolded. His stance is all wrong, his weapon unbalanced, and I can see in his eyes that he doesn't consider me a threat. The only question is whether I draw it out or take him down quick to make a statement._

_*Yup. Cocky.*_

_Bite me, Eric._

As the beginning of the fight was signaled, the man began his charge, club whirling overhead. As Caitlin had noted, it had far too much weight on the end and wouldn't allow him to alter his swing, so she decided to take advantage of that. She stood in place on the balls of her feet and dodged to the side as he made his first attack.

He swung around a bit faster than she'd anticipated, but it still wasn't enough to catch her. She dodged the next two blows and then decided enough was enough.

At the next overhand swing, she simply caught the massive club in her left hand.

The man stared down at her incredulously as a hush fell across the stadium. She gave him one last smirk before smashing her right fist into his chest in a crushing uppercut. He was lifted up off of the ground at least two feet before he face-planted, dead before he hit the dirt floor.

Caitlin released her hold on the club, tossing it negligently to the side as she raised her clasped hands over her head once more, ignoring the blood dripping down from her right fist.

The crowd, understandably, went absolutely wild.

 _And_ that _is how you get their attention._

_/What exactly is it you're going for? Aren't you trying to get to where Becca's being held?/_

_No, I don't think that's gonna work. I'm hoping they make me fight her._

_/.../_

_What?_

_/Are you out of your fucking mind?/_

_Well, I suppose you'd be the first to know, wouldn't you?_

She grinned to herself as she walked back through the gate, Chris' agitated mutterings overlaid by Eric's hysterical laughter in her head.

She sat out the next two fights as Rebecca was up against another group first, and then there was a scheduled middleweight match. Unfortunately they didn't allow her anywhere near the gate that her sister was using, instead, keeping her deep underground in a locked, though fairly comfortable, cell.

An hour and a half later, after she'd finished a small but filling meal of some unidentifiable meat and a surprisingly tasty vegetable broth, Burt came to get her again.

She smiled a little at the worry in his eyes. "Lemme guess, they want me to fight her."

"You were expecting that?" the trainer replied in surprise.

"Wasn't too hard to anticipate. Dare I ask what the betting is like?"

"Through the roof, girlie, absolutely through the roof," Burt chuckled. "Biggest odds are on a draw, that's where I put my money, but that's 'cause I know the two of you are actually related."

"Hmm," Caitlin smirked as they walked down the hallway. "Smart thinking."

Burt glanced at her sharply. "You're up to something…"

"Who, me?" she grinned innocently. "Don't worry about it, Burt. You're a decent guy, and I don't want you getting in trouble. I would, however, recommend you collect your money fast. Like, head up to the booth as soon as you drop me off."

"Yeah," he replied slowly. "Sure, thanks, kid…"

"Don't mention it."

She stood unmoving at the gate, her face not betraying a hint of her rising apprehension.

_What if I can't reach her? What if she's too far gone? Will I actually have to fight her?_

_/Have faith./_

Caitlin snorted to herself softly, not deigning to reply mentally and instead took several deep, calming breaths. The petite brunette tuned out the voice of the announcer as he played up the epicness of the impending fight.

And then the gate swung open. _Showtime,_ she thought to herself grimly as she took the first fateful step into the arena.

Dimly she heard her sister being announced, and her heart soared in her chest at the sight of the small redhead standing at the other end motionlessly.

With slow but firm steps she began walking forward.

Rebecca must have subconsciously recognized the danger that her sister posed as her head immediately snapped up, both swords raised cautiously. Caitlin didn't hesitate, keeping her arms at her side as she maintained her steady approach.

"Becca," she called out softly, loud enough for her to hear but not for anyone else to notice. She tried to keep her lips as still as possible. "I'm here, Becca, it's me. Do you see me?"

The redhead kept her hands raised but made no aggressive moves. If anything, her eyes seemed to be somewhat confused.

"It's Caitlin, your sister," she continued soothingly. "I found you, I came for you. I need you to snap out of it, okay? Can you come back to me?"

Rebecca took a hesitant step back, and the crowd started to murmur as some began to suspect something amiss.

_Running out of time here…_

"Okay, I'm going to reach out to you now," she continued, now within ten feet of her sibling. "I would really, really appreciate it if you left both of my arms attached to my body, okay sis?"

The points of the two swords seemed to waver slightly, dipping towards the ground, and Caitlin took a chance.

She surged forward, clasping her hands over her sister's forearms.

At first, Rebecca's face was contorted into a feral rage, but as soon as Caitlin came into contact with her it was replaced by first confusion, and then wonderment. The brunette watched as her sister's eyes seemed to clear up, the pale green irises becoming more focused on her face.

"Caitlin?" she rasped, her malachite eyes shimmering.

"Hey there," Caitlin smiled gently, feeling the tears forming in her own eyes. "Welcome back."

She heard the shouts from behind as guards hurtled across the stadium floor. Behind Rebecca, the gate began to rise up to the sound of more angry voices.

Rebecca's eyes narrowed as she looked over her sister's shoulder. "I will not go back," she said determinedly.

"No worries," Caitlin grinned in a bad imitation of Abby's light accent. "Just hang on."

Rebecca looked back at her sister in confusion as she pushed them up against the wall. "What are you…?"

And then a small pair of hands slipped through the wall behind them, grabbing hold of the pair of girls and dragging them backwards.

The guards halted at the empty spot, their perplexed questioning drowned out by the angry roars of the crowd denied their entertainment.

* * *

The Bell

Three forms entered through the doorway of the tavern, all of a similar slim build and short height, heavily cloaked in dark robes. Sara perked up as she saw them enter and skipped over to their table excitedly. She bent slightly to look under the cowls and gave an answering smile to the one sitting closest to the door as Caitlin pushed her hood back slightly.

"Hey Sara," the brunette grinned. "This is my sister, Blade."

The figure in the middle also pulled her hood back slightly, revealing the same face as her sister's though with a smattering of freckles and framed by red hair instead of brown. "Hello, Sara," she greeted her with a small smile. "I have heard much about you."

"It's very nice to meet you, too," Sara replied politely, though she was bouncing on her toes. "And you two, Scrapper and Shadowcat, I'm glad you came back! You guys hungry?"

"Do you perhaps have any vegetables?" the redhead asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely, we actually have a salad we make, my dad's famous for it! Got our own garden out back!"

"That would be lovely, please."

Caitlin nodded. "And three waters. You want any food, Shadowcat?"

Kitty shook her head. "No, I'm good, thanks."

Sara skipped off eagerly, leaving the three of them to resume their conversation.

"So we are to be expecting this Derek here?" Rebecca queried. "Is he some sort of spy?"

Caitlin shrugged carelessly. "Courier, informant, spy… I don't think the label is important. All I know is he's gonna hopefully get us to Abby and Blink."

"Almost all together again," Kitty sighed wearily. "I hate to get too excited about it in case I jinx it."

"So then, 'Crimson Blade,'" Caitlin interjected softly after their waters arrived. "Did you have fun skewering the competition? I heard you racked up quite the kill count."

Rebecca's grip tightened on her sister's hand. She'd been surreptitiously holding on to her ever since they had escaped the arena, relishing in the physical contact as she felt their metaphysical bond being reestablished.

"Do not joke about that," she warned softly. "I did not anticipate I would degrade so quickly."

"What, you mean you didn't enjoy the fighting?"

"Perhaps overmuch." Rebecca sighed as she gazed at the glass in front of her. "After a time, it felt… right. Too much so. I fear that I miscalculated how much my… programming would take over."

Caitlin gave her hand a gentle squeeze, though of course, she couldn't leave well enough alone.

"So you're saying you made a mistake?"

"I…" Rebecca paused to glare next to her. "You are making fun of me already?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, I gotta make up for lost time."

"You do not, truly."

"Sure I do!" Caitlin grinned. "I can't just let go of the fact that you messed up!"

"Caitlin, I still have my swords."

"Here we go," Kitty sighed amusedly. "Already with the threats of violence."

"I'm hurt, Becca. After everything we went through to get you, this is how you repay me?"

Rebecca looked down at the table, blushing slightly. "Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you both for coming for me."

Kitty smiled and wrapped her friend in a one-armed hug, while Caitlin leaned her head onto Rebecca's shoulder.

"You know I always will," Caitlin said softly, all traces of teasing gone from her voice.

They retired back to their room once Rebecca was finished with her salad, for which she was quick to lavish praise upon the tavern owners. There was only one bed, but it was large enough that the three of them could squeeze in together without too much discomfort.

"You're not gonna fall off, are you Kitty?" Caitlin asked from the side of the bed closest to the door.

"I'm good," Kitty replied sleepily, snuggling Rebecca's arm around her. "Got a safety belt."

The redhead laughed softly, ensconced between the two others and unable to contain her mirth. She'd been without any hope or humor for so long, it felt good to smile once more.

Before the three of them could drift off, there came a soft knock at the door.

Kitty leapt to her feet in alarm, as did Rebecca, but Caitlin just groaned as she rose towards the door.

"Derek, couldn't this have waited till the morning?" she groused as she opened the door.

"Um, how'd you know it was me?" the nondescript man standing in the doorway asked.

"Your scent," she replied flatly. "So what have you got?"

"Oh, well…" He trailed off as he noted the addition of the redhead to their party. "Oh, excellent! You found Rebecca!"

"Yep, we did. And were just about to finally get some sleep."

"Right, right… okay, so we got word back. There's gonna be an escort in the morning to take you up north to rejoin the others. Can you be ready to leave by eight?"

Caitlin nodded, her sleepy smile wide. "Yeah, we will. Thanks, Derek, see you in the morning?"

"Nope, I'm off for other missions. Good luck to you all, okay?"

"Yeah, you too."

Kitty smiled and waved from the far side of the bed. "Thanks, Derek!"

After closing the door the three of them settled back into bed again, still dressed for a quick escape if needed.

"Right, if there's nothing else…" Caitlin yawned, the lack of sleep for the past few days finally catching up to her. "G'night guys."

"'Night Cat, Becca," the brunette mutant replied softly, her eyes drooping shut.

"Goodnight, Kitty," Rebecca added. After a moment, she spoke up again with her head tilted back. "Caitlin?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you again."

"You're welcome, Becca. Love you." The brunette leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her sister's cheek.

"I love you as well, Caitlin," the redhead replied. She lay her head back upon the pillow, her face creased with an uncharacteristically wide smile as she finally let the happy tears fall down her cheeks before drifting off to sleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Abby sighed softly from where she leaned up against the wall, her arms crossed tightly against her chest, though her face remained unreadable.

Noticing that, Blink sauntered over casually from where she'd been looking at a rough map of the area. The purple-haired girl flopped next to her… _girlfriend_. The label made small happy little butterflies soar through the mutant teen's middle, and she was unable to suppress the smile that the feeling caused.

The shorter blonde girl gave her a little grin as her malachite eyes flickered over to her before gazing out across the control room once more. "All right, then, luv?"

"I'm fine, love," she murmured back. "Worried about you, though."

Abby shook her head, her short bob of hair swaying slightly. "No worries for me, Claire-bear. Just… restless."

Blink nodded slowly, though she slipped an arm around Abby and pulled her back against her chest. The shorter girl gave a soft laugh but complied, molding herself against her body.

"We'll find them," Blink whispered into her hair. "Just like you've been telling me. Only a matter of time, right?"

"Too right. I know that, I do. Just wish _she_ would let me out more."

It was obvious who Abby was referring to, without even needing to indicate the individual in question, standing at the far end of the busy room. The future version of herself was listening attentively to reports from a runner who had just entered recently.

Ever since their last excursion, future-Abby was reluctant to allow them to leave the complex. This time period's version of Rebecca was far more accommodating and acknowledged that the pair of girls didn't need to be coddled, even if they had a propensity for getting into trouble.

But the older Abby had no such qualms about clipping their wings, preferring to keep them under close supervision for fear of losing Blink. Again.

"You do remember she can hear you, right?" Blink asked humorously, even though she anticipated the answer.

"'Course I do," Abby smirked. "Now ask me if I care. Right brassed off with how she's treating us."

"She did let you keep the warstaff, though."

"Haven't gotten to use it but the one time, now, have I?"

The purple-haired girl chuckled lightly. "Well, give it time. I'm sure they'll have something concrete soon."

"Yeah," Abby murmured. "Soon enough, I suppose."

The older blonde spared them a glance before walking out of the room without saying a word to them.

"Prat," Abby mumbled quietly.

Blink snorted out a laugh, holding her hand up to muffle it. "You know, it's really odd hearing you talk about yourself like that."

"Can't help it if I turn out to be such a bleedin' wanker in the future, now can I?" the blonde retorted. "Well, suppose I can, reckon I'll have to work on that now. I ever act like an arse, you let me know, alright luv?"

"Don't worry, I'll be the first."

The pair of them looked up as another familiar face walked into the room. The future Rebecca looked almost identical to the one from their time period, and oddly enough it made the pang of loss more real when seeing her. Blink knew it was worse for Abby who was missing her sisters something fierce.

Glancing around the room briefly, the diminutive redhead gave a small nod before striding over to them. "Ladies," she greeted them levelly.

"Hiya, Becca," Abby replied. "Sussed anything out, yet?"

"Indeed we have," Rebecca murmured softly. "We received word from the enclave, the other three of your party are together and will be making their way here."

Blink let out a soft gasp and clutched Abby's shoulder excitedly. "Really? They're on their way?"

Rebecca nodded, a small smile on her face, while Abby could only close her eyes and sigh in relief.

"So, how long?" the purple-haired girl asked, bouncing on her toes eagerly.

"About that… I am certain that there might be room left for two more individuals in the outgoing patrol," Rebecca mentioned casually. "Dani will be leading them to meet the others halfway and bring them in."

Abby frowned slightly. "I thought that… the other me wasn't too keen on us going out."

"Well, I am not about to say anything to her if you would not," Rebecca answered with a tiny smirk.

The blonde grinned back at the future version of her sister. "You're alright, luv."

"I know," she replied simply before walking off once more.

Blink and Abby faced each other with excited grins on their faces.

"Shall we go gear up?" the purple-haired girl asked eagerly.

"Oh, yes. Let's."

* * *

Kitty paced herself behind the two sisters as they walked in the midst of their escort of Resistance fighters. Both Caitlin and Rebecca had been practically inseparable, understandingly enough, ever since the redhead's rescue from the fighting pits of the enclave. Though they no longer held hands, the two identically-statured girls walked in step and shoulder-to-shoulder.

The brunette mutant had to smile softly at the sight. She'd been friends with Caitlin for quite some time, through dark times and good ones, but ever since she'd gained the bond that she shared with first Rebecca and then Abby, the diminutive girl had a sense of contentment about her. A feeling of belonging and warmth that radiated off of her like never before as she seamlessly shifted into the mode of a big sister.

 _Some things just come naturally, I suppose,_ she mused to herself.

Kitty idly reflected on the broken mess that Caitlin had been in the first time she'd met her, having just barely recovered from a devastating mental attack that left her empty and tenaciously clinging to her sanity. Professor Xavier had helped her heal through perseverance and empathy.

And she gained herself a best friend.

If there was anyone in this strange future that she could count on to return them home, it was Caitlin. The brash and confident girl would find a way, she had no doubt in her mind.

Another soft smile crossed her face as she heard the pair bantering up ahead, Caitlin with her usual snark and Rebecca quietly defending herself. It was a verbal dance they often engaged in, though the softspoken redhead could fling deadly barbs of her own when so inclined.

"I'm just sayin', you could make a killing," the brunette was commenting mildly, though with a mischievous undertone.

"No, Caitlin."

"Aw, why not? You're not even gonna consider it?"

"I do not see the point of it."

"It's entertaining!"

"Gladiatorial combat with foam weapons, on television? I think not."

Caitlin snickered merrily. "You could wear that gold bikini again."

"No, Caitlin."

"I bet Sam would like to see you wear it."

Even from behind, Kitty could see the bright blush spread across Rebecca's cheeks. "That is irrelevant."

"And now I got you thinking about that, don't I?"

The redhead shook her head ruefully. "I do believe you have become even more obnoxious in my absence."

"Yeah, I blame Kitty."

"Hey!" the brunette mutant protested mildly.

"It's true, you're a bad influence."

"Cat, there's nobody that could possibly be a worse influence on you than yourself."

The six soldiers escorting them were chuckling at the banter, their shoulders shaking with mirth.

"I've gotta say," the leader, a lanky man with short-cropped black hair called Nathan, remarked. "You are nothing like I expected."

"Oh, really?" Caitlin replied casually. "And what were you expecting?"

The soldier quickly snapped his mouth shut and stared back off into the distance once more, obstetenciously looking for threats.

"Mmhmm," Caitlin mused. "Thought so. You guys sure are untalkative when it comes to the subject of me or my sisters."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Kitty mused, grinning slightly at the way their conversation was making the leader squirm as he walked.

"I think they know something major, but have been told not to divulge anything," Rebecca commented. "Either for our own good or for theirs."

"Or maybe they just like keeping secrets for the sole reason of being secretive," Caitlin retorted.

"Caitlin, that makes absolutely no sense."

"Sure it does. I used to work with Fury, remember? What was it Stark said…? Oh, right. His secrets have secrets." Caitlin smirked unrepentantly. "Maybe these guys subscribe to the Nick Fury school of espionage."

"If you would just be patient," Nathan sighed with an extraordinary amount of patience himself, "your questions will be answered by the council."

Caitlin snorted inelegantly. "And there's the familiar refrain. If you knew anything about me, it's that I'm not overly known for my patience."

" _That's_ the God-honest truth," Kitty muttered.

"Indeed. Truer words have never been spoken," Rebeca added solemnly.

"Hey!" the green-eyed brunette protested. "What, are we ganging up on me now?"

"Gladly," the redhead snarked. "Kitty is far less obnoxious than you."

"Why thank you, ma'am," the brunette mutant grinned.

"Anytime, dear."

Caitlin shook her head. "This is the thanks I get for rescuing the two of you," she said in mock sadness.

"Yep."

"Indeed."

"Fine," the brunette huffed. "Next time, see if I pull your bacon out of the fire."

Rebecca furrowed her brow as she turned to her sister. "I am a vegetarian. Why would I have bacon that would require rescuing?"

"Just a phrase, Becca."

"Oh. I see."

Their banter was interrupted as one of the soldiers on point suddenly fell to the side, a bloody stump ending at his neck where his head once was. The shot that took him out had barely registered before they all flung themselves to the ground, seeking what cover there was.

"Talk to me!" Nathan barked out, trying to peer around the corner of the piece of rubble he was sheltering behind.

"I got no eyes on target!" one of the soldiers called back.

Another made to pop up to fire off a few rounds of suppressive fire, but he immediately slumped back again, the top half of his head missing.

"Well, shit," Caitlin grunted. "Becca?"

The redhead gave her a tight grin as two of them slipped their cloaks off. "I have your back, as always."

Her brunette sister gave her a nod as she flexed her fingers where she still wore her cestus iron-studded knuckle coverings. For her part, Becca pulled out her short swords and readied them eagerly.

"Stay put!" Caitlin sang out before launching herself forward.

"What…?" Kitty asked incredulously, only to see the two of them speed off across the terrain and towards the source of the incoming energy rounds. "Dammit!"

The mutant teen ran over to the second fallen soldier, scooping up his rifle, and turned to a rather shocked-looking Nathan. "Um, yeah. What she said." With that, she phased herself and sprinted off in the direction the sisters had taken.

She caught up to them soon enough, as the trail of destruction was easy to follow. There were several squads there, approaching under the cover of the android sniper fire. Smoking metallic corpses lay alongside mangled alien ones as the two renegade lab experiments waded through their opposition.

Kitty took cover behind a rock outcropping and began to open fire on the snipers, now that she could see them, in order to distract their fire. Meanwhile, Caitlin was grinning ferociously as she laid into another group of androids, knocking one of their heads clean off while crumpling another's chest plate in, sending it reeling back in a shower of sparks.

Rebecca was doing an intricate dance with her blades whirling about her, slicing through android and Chitauri alike. One of the aliens had an energy staff that he tried to block a strike with, but the force of her blows cut clean through the weapon, leaving it holding the ends of its weapon incredulously before she lopped its head off.

By this point the remaining four Resistance soldiers from the enclave had moved up to join Kitty, adding their fire at the snipers up on the ridge.

Before either the brunette or redhead hand-to-hand fighters could head up to engage the remaining forces themselves, however, more gunfire erupted, but from behind the line this time. Several of the androids came rolling down the sharp incline in pieces.

Kitty approached her friends cautiously. "Reinforcements?" she asked warily.

"I think…" Caitlin murmured, her brow furrowed intently before a bright smile lit up her face. She opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by the blonde figure that slammed into her and Rebecca in a blur of motion.

"Abby?" the brunette mutant laughed in surprise as the three figures in front of her toppled inelegantly to the ground. And then she heard her name being called, and another purple-haired figure came racing down, half-running and half-sliding, until she could tackle her in a hug as well.

"Oh my God, Kitty!" Blink laughed, tears of joy streaming from her face as she held her close.

Kitty couldn't reply, her own voice lost to the emotion closing off her throat. Through her own tears, she could see the three reunited sisters rolling around in the dirt, joyously sobbing and laughing as they clung to each other tenaciously.

"Ladies!" a lanky woman with close-cropped brown hair called out as she descended the ridge in the company of several soldiers in the same mold as the ones that had accompanied them. "Hate to break this up, but we have incoming!"

The three sisters quickly leapt to their feet, dusting themselves off and readying their weapons. "Where from, luv?" Abby asked. "Oh, sorry… You lot, this's Dani, right proper ace Commander of these folks and a decent sort."

"Pleasure," the tall woman nodded, though she gave both Caitlin and Rebecca an odd look. "Troop transport coming in low, we don't have the time to run."

Nathan strode over, his three soldiers in tow. "Ma'am, your orders?"

As Dani began to rapidly point out directions, the five friends clustered in a group.

"Kitty and Blink, you guys hang back with the soldiers, okay?" Caitlin began. "And Abbs… what in the hell is that you're carrying?"

"Brill, right?" the blonde grinned widely, twirling her staff around her torso. "Wait till you see it in action. How 'bout you lot, are those bleedin' swords, Becca?"

The redhead grinned and gave her own weapons a twirl. "It is a long story."

"I just bet. Right, shall we?"

"Oh yeah," Caitlin grinned. "Let's."

Before Kitty and Blink could race back, Abby grabbed the purple-haired girl by the arm and pulled her in for a quick kiss, letting her go again with a grin. She turned to face her sisters, both of whom had to figuratively pick their jaws up off of the floor.

"Since when has _that_ been a thing?" the brunette asked incredulously.

"Er," Abby blushed. "Few days now, I s'pose?"

"Wow," Rebecca chuckled. "I am quite happy for you, Abby."

"Me too, luv, me too."

The three of them turned as one of the alien space whales soared overhead, small explosions along its side signaling the deployment of alien troops. Escorting on either side were a pair of shiny repulsor-driven craft, which promptly began disgorging metallic figures to drop to the ground.

"That," Rebecca stated calmly, "is quite a few troops."

Abby grinned ferally. "They shoulda brought more, right rubbish they are. Ready?"

"Ready," Caitlin answered, flexing her fingers and starting forward towards where the troops were landing. Rebecca strolled along her left side, both swords out and pointed to the ground, while Abby walked along the right, her warstaff slung negligently over her shoulder.

"You know what the best part of this is?" the brunette mused thoughtfully.

"What's that, luv?" Abby prompted.

"We're fighting aliens and robots. We don't need to hold back any."

Rebecca smiled, a dark little smirk that reeked of uncharacteristic violence. "Then let us enjoy ourselves, sisters of mine."

"My thoughts exactly," Caitlin laughed merrily. Shots began to land among them now, answered by fire from the entrenched Resistance fighters from behind them. "Let's swing to the right, give our allies a clear shot."

"Smashing," Abby grinned as the three of them began to pick up their pace. By the time the aliens and their android servant found their range, the three of them were at a full run, dodging and weaving as they went. When they were several yards away, Abby pushed her speed and flew in with a blur, smashing into a pair of rifle-wielding aliens with her spinning staff.

Caitlin slid in under some of the fire until she could leap up, plunging her fists into the torsos of the androids opposing her. She gleefully waded in close, using her knuckle weapons with abandon, though she didn't forget to land the odd kick to cripple an android's leg or demolish the kneecap of one of the Chitauri.

Like a small redheaded tornado of blades, Rebecca spun in low, slicing through armor and steel alike. Her swords were quickly dulling under the tortuous use, but she compensated by thrusting as much as possible, using brute strength to punch through those who stood in her way.

"I will need to procure new weapons soon!" Rebecca shouted as she dove under the clumsy though powerful swing of an alien soldier.

"Look for the buggers with rifles!" Abby yelled back, thrusting her staff into the belly of a Chitauri and firing it off, using the recoil to spin it around and smash into the faceplate of an android. "I think they carry knives!"

"Oh, how wonderful!" the redhead replied merrily. "Thank you, Abby!"

"No worries, luv!"

"So, that nifty weapon of yours," Caitlin began, though she had to pause as she skipped back to avoid the body rush of a pair of androids. She turned and slammed them into the ground with well-timed strikes to their backs. "Looks nicer than the usual ones here!"

"Oh, yeah, this was off of a commander or some sort," Abby explained cheerfully.

"I like it! Any other new toys?"

"Eh, not so much," the blonde snickered, crouching down and dropping several charging Chitauri. She winced as an incoming energy bolt seared past her shin, fortunately not a direct hit. "See if you find another bloke, decorative armor from what I hear, like to add to the collection."

"What, you wanna gift one to your new girlfriend?" Caitlin grinned, spinning on one leg to send an alien flying back and into another set of advancing androids.

"And what if I do?" Abby retorted. She used her enhanced speed to change positions so that she could back Rebecca up better as her opponents were becoming predominantly of the robotic variety. "You lot give gifts to your sweethearts, right?"

"Well, that depends," the brunette smirked, ducking another barrage of rifle fire before pummeling an android to pieces. "Should be a nice gift, depending on how nice a 'gift' she gave you if you know what I mean…"

"Wait, what?" Abby exclaimed, blocking an overhand strike from one of the inferior staffs and then sending a blast into the attacker's gut. "What are you on about?"

"Are you guys sleeping together?"

"We shared a bed, yeah…"

"No," Caitlin clarified, grabbing an energy rifle and plucking it out of a Chitauri's hand before smashing her gore-covered fist into its face. "I mean, are you two having sex?"

"What?" Abby yelled, repeatedly firing her energy staff into the midst of a group of charging aliens. "No, we are bloody well not banging yet!"

"It was an honest question!"

"No, it was not," Rebecca interjected, slashing across the throat of a Chitauri opponent. It fell away from the vicious redhead, clutching its ruined neck. "You were being obnoxious again."

"No, really, I just wanted to know!"

"And it's none of your bloody business," Abby retorted, whirling her staff about her and knocking several attackers back who had been pressing in.

"Now, Abbs…"

"Get stuffed, Caitlin!"

Rebecca sighed loudly as she thrust into the ribcage of an alien soldier. "Even in the midst of a battle, she finds a way to be irritating." She went to withdraw her sword, but the weakened blade snapped off. "And there goes my last sword."

"Got a rifleman corpse at my feet!" Caitlin called out, punching a hole in the surrounding assailants for her sister. The redhead quickly jumped over the heads of the remaining opponents in between them with a twirling somersault, landing in a crouch and wasting little time in drawing the wicked-looking combat knife that wasn't much shorter than her swords had been.

"Oh," Rebecca grinned ferally, examining the near-foot-long serrated blade. "This is lovely."

Caitlin laughed merrily. "So everyone gets new toys but me? So unfair."

"Perhaps if you were less obnoxious, you might be treated to gifts," the redhead smirked, jumping up on the shoulders of another nearby rifle-wielding Chitauri. She stabbed down into its neck viciously and rode the body down, quickly coming up with another serrated blade. "Besides, I do not believe they have the toys you would appreciate."

"True enough," Caitlin lamented. She slammed a double-fisted strike into the chest-plate of another android, toppling it over. "Eh, this is working well enough for me."

"Just mildly curious here, mind you," Abby broke in, "but are we getting any closer to putting an end to this lot?"

"Ummm…" Caitlin performed one of Natasha's signature takedown moves, straddling the shoulders of a Chitauri and twisting on the way down to break its neck. While in the air, she took a quick glance about. "Actually, we're getting pretty close, yeah."

Just then Rebecca let out a scream of anguish as she failed to dodge a shot to her midsection. She crouched on all fours, her loosened hair hanging down across her face as she gripped her knives with white knuckles.

"Becca?" her brunette sister called out worriedly.

"I will be fine," the redhead growled. "But I tire of this already."

"Right you are," Abby agreed, bouncing off of an android that was collapsing into a smoking ruin. "Caitlin, luv, I think we should end this now."

"Yeah, okay," Caitlin grunted, rolling across the dirt to end up next to Rebecca and dropping her crude iron knuckle dusters on the ground. "Don't lose these, 'k?"

"Go," Rebecca replied tersely as the blood dripped ever slower into the dirt under her.

Abby slid in next, dropping her warstaff off next to Caitlin's weapons, but she let out a pained yelp as she took a shot to her side. "Bloody hell!" she yelled angrily. "Right, then, you wankers, let's do this!"

With a snarl the blonde leapt forward, her clothes tearing as she transformed into a sleekly muscular cheetah. She was quickly joined by a large black panther with a murderous gleam in its pale green eyes.

After that, things got a bit bloody for the Chitauri.

The two giant cats smashed through what was left of their assailants, ripping mercilessly into both alien and android alike. Abby used her superior speed to circle and harass the flanks of the troops, while Caitlin simply bulled her way straight on in, ripping limbs and eviscerating those foolish enough to stand in her way.

The Chitauri had faced many opponents in their efforts to subjugate this rather insignificant ball of rock, many with superpowers or enhanced abilities. They'd taken them all down, weakened as they had been, primarily through overwhelming numbers. It had been some time since they faced any real opposition, and these troops left weren't the elite soldiers normally sent in on the eve of an invasion. They were occupiers, wardens of a dying and weak race. Their battalion had been quickly assembled when they noted the presence of small congregating groups of human fighters, some of whom had been identified as the ringleaders of the organized resistance.

Faced with the terror of these two terrible balls of fur, all razor-sharp claws and teeth, those who remained alive were quick to break, fleeing ignominiously to leave their android servants to their fate.

Or, at least they might have were it not for the remaining Resistance soldiers who suddenly popped up along their escape route in flashes of purple light to cut them down.

Panting, Rebecca levered herself up, gazing across the impromptu battlefield. Corpses and machinery littered the landscape, with very few left standing, and those who were came to a quick end once chased down by a blur of golden fur. She smiled softly as a giant black panther padded her way over, nuzzling her leg inquisitively.

"I am fine now, thank you, Caitlin," she murmured, sticking her knives into the back of her belt so that she could run a hand along her sleek, muscled flank. The spotted cheetah bounded over next to plop herself down and lean up against her other side, tongue lolling out as she panted from her exertion.

"And thank you as well, Abby," the redhead grinned, scratching behind the cheetah's ears and earning a happy purr that sounded more like a car engine.

Kitty and Blink sauntered up to the trio, followed closely by Dani and another hulking soldier who seemed to be performing duties as a bodyguard, based on how he shadowed the pair of mutants. "Becca, looks like you picked up a pair of kitty cats," the purple-haired girl laughed.

"I did indeed," Rebecca joked with a warm smile. "Perhaps they will follow us home if we feed them?"

Caitlin laughed as she turned back into a small human teen, standing up and stretching languorously. "Oh, you know we'd follow you guys anywhere," she joked.

"Indeed, no nosh needed," Abby smirked, performing a stretch of her own. "Though a little bit wouldn't be amiss, they've got some lovely grub back at the HQ."

"Um, girls," Dani began with a wide smirk. "Can I ask you to, er, cover up? You're giving my troops fits."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Caitlin snickered, looking about. "Hmm, where'd our bags go…"

Before long Kitty and Blink had retrieved their backpacks and cloaks, allowing them to cover up enough to spare the sensibilities of the Resistance soldiers. The small group made good time in starting on their journey back to the north, their escort ranging around the five out-of-time girls.

"So, what can we expect when we get there?" Caitlin asked curiously. "Who are these council people, and why has everyone been so tight-lipped about, well, us?"

Abby and Blink, walking hand-in-hand, shared a grin. "Well, settle back, you lot," the blonde began cheerfully. "I know some may want to keep it a surprise, but it might be best if we prepare you ahead of time, yeah?"


	8. Chapter 8

New York City  
Somewhere Underground

"Ready for this, then?" Abby asked mildly.

Caitlin snorted softly. "No. But let's do it anyway."

"Indeed," Rebecca nodded. "No use in putting it off any further."

Both Kitty and Blink gave their agreement as well and the blonde turned back to the door, pushing it open slowly.

The rest of their trek from the wastelands in between the Chitauri enclave and what remained of New York City was relatively uneventful. The aliens made no further attempt to attack them, though their reasoning was unclear. Perhaps they had no troops of sufficient caliber or number to engage them again, or they deemed them too dangerous a target to attempt intercepting again.

Or maybe they were simply declared not worth the effort.

In any case, they were now within the former cold war bunker under the subway level of the city ruins above them. Dani had left them at the door to the council chambers, and those waiting for them were well known to the five girls assembled.

Abby stepped through first, followed by her sisters, and then the pair of mutant girls to bring up the rear. Seated at the far end of the room were a trio of familiar, if offsetting, faces.

"Whelp," Caitlin murmured. "Even being prepared for it, this is still eerie as hell."

The closer they got, though, the more hesitant her steps became as she picked up on something rather jarring. "Becca…" she breathed.

Her redheaded sister continued to walk up, stopping a few feet away to calmly regard the figure that could be her twin.

"I do not age?" the younger redhead asked curiously.

Her older copy shook her head calmly. "It is the mutant gene from Wolverine."

"I see."

The past Caitlin stepped up next to her, an anxious expression on her face. "Becca, you're taking this awfully calmly. You're, like, immortal!"

"I am not," her sister replied, turning to her with a sad smile. "I shall die when you do."

The brunette looked at her with wide eyes. "Becca…" she choked out, overcome with emotion.

The younger Rebecca placed a hand on her sister's mouth reassuringly. "It is not a concern. So long as you attempt to be less reckless, yes?"

Caitlin smiled and placed a kiss on her sister's palm. "I'll work on that," she mumbled against Rebecca's hand.

"We are glad to have you all here finally," the future Rebecca interjected. "Please, have a seat so that we might work on a way to return you to your time."

Kitty nodded dumbly, still shocked at the image of older versions of both Abby and Caitlin sitting across from them. The former was gazing wistfully at her younger self and Blink as they sat side-by-side, holding hands, while the latter seemed to have a permanent and extraordinarily uncharacteristic scowl affixed on her face.

"Before we begin on the planning," the younger redhead spoke up softly, her gaze riveted unwaveringly on her older copy. "We deserve to know what happened to cause this. If nothing else so that we might be able to prevent it."

"Always the optimist," the older brunette grumbled, though she clammed up when her sister shot her a quick glare.

"Damn, Becca," the younger one stage-whispered. "Way to dominate, there."

Both redheads graced her with an identical amused smirk before the older one started in on her tale.

"The direct cause of this second Chitauri invasion was a conflict between superheroes. A civil war, if you will. that left our world ripe for takeover. The heroes of your day were divided over the issue of certain Accords, which were created through the human governments to attempt restraint on these enhanced beings."

"Restraint, how?" the past Abby asked quickly.

Older Rebecca sighed. "Registration. Those who did not comply were to be interred, ultimately to curtail vigilantism. And, as should have been anticipated, there were… objections to this course of action."

"Meaning, Captain America stood up and gave his own government a big ole 'fuck you'," future Caitlin grunted, tapping idly on the table in front of her. "And we stood with him."

"The three of you… of us?" past Abby murmured. "Why did we get involved?"

The sisters sitting across the table from them glanced at each other, sharing an unspoken conversation. It felt odd to the younger versions not to be privy to such communication.

"It was a difficult decision to make," the older redhead admitted. "Especially with who we stood against. Tony Stark for one, but also…"

"Natasha," the older blonde whispered painfully.

All five of the other girls drew in a shocked gasp. "No…" past Caitlin breathed.

The Rebecca sitting across from her nodded solemnly. "If you want to know where things became… untenable, it begins, though, with Lisa."

"Lisa? My Lisa?" The younger brunette blinked her eyes uncertainly, glancing at her older copy who was now studiously glaring at the table top, clenching her jaw so hard they could hear her teeth grind.

"Yes," the older redhead sighed. "Your Lisa moved from California out to the East Coast to finish up her schooling at James Madison, in order to be closer to you, though that was not her primary reasoning." She offered a small smile. "It was, however, of benefit to her."

Her smile vanished as if it had never been. "Once the civil war broke out, and the heroes clashed, the connection between Lisa and Caitlin came to light. The government, unable to capture the three of us… took Lisa. And Caitlin, being who she... was… did not take kindly to that, and mounted a rescue."

"And that's when it all went sideways," the older blonde murmured. "Completely tits-up."

Future Rebecca nodded. "It was, as should have been obvious to all of us, an ambush meant to draw us out. Not by just those heroes opposing us, in favor of registration, but government troops as well. We had enlisted some help," her eyes shot briefly towards Kitty, "and once the fight became heavily against us, they called in further help. More and more reinforcements were pulled in on both sides, laying waste to the countryside of northern New York."

"I was a bloody disaster," the older blonde said quietly. "So many deaths…"

"Many friends and many loved ones," her redheaded sister added. Caitlin had to blink her eyes again to reassure her which of the Rebeccas was hers and which belonged to the future.

"Like who?" the younger brunette asked hesitantly.

Future Abby looked at Blink sadly. "The X-Men joined in, at least the younger ones, and the bleedin' feds took it as open season on all mutants."

Blink hitched her breath and clung to her Abby's hand tightly. "That's when I died?" she asked breathlessly.

"All of them," the older brunette stated, her voice cold and angry. "Every fucking one. You, Kitty, Bobby, Rogue… they slaughtered them all. And then they started in on the heroes who had resisted. Some of the ones supporting the Accords changed sides as they saw what was happening…"

The older Rebecca stepped in when her Caitlin became unable to finish. "Lisa was caught up in the crossfire," she said gently. "As was Sam, Natasha, and Clint. Wanda and Vision. Even Captain America lost his life that day."

"Lost everyone we loved," The elder Abby whispered, reliving the pain of that time as a single tear escaped down her cheek.

The room was silent for a few minutes as the older sisters were lost in their memories and the younger ones digested the news as best they could in their stunned state. Kitty and Blink as well were shocked at the brutality of the human government that they'd tried so long to protect from those mutants wanting to do them harm.

"When…" Caitlin cleared her throat, forcing down the rising emotion. "When did Lisa move?"

"Last two years of school," her older version said tonelessly. "She was just about to graduate when the shitstorm went down."

"But… But she's a senior at UCLA already!" the younger one replied, perplexed. "At least she was when we left our time period!"

The brunettes stared at each other in confusion until one of the redheads at the table stirred.

"I believe I understand what has occurred," the younger Rebecca mused. She walked over to a concrete wall and looked at it, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Caitlin - my Caitlin, that is - would you please join me?"

The diminutive brunette stepped up alongside her. "Yeah, what's up, Becca?"

"I require the use of a claw."

"You…" She looked at her sister askance. "Seriously?"

"Please."

Letting out a rather put-upon sigh, she obediently extended an index finger into a razor-sharp talon and held out her hand. The redhead grabbed it and scratched out a long horizontal line.

"Well, this is my life now," Caitlin grumbled.

"Hush," her sister chided. "Now, this is our timeline, the one where we came from." She dragged Caitlin's hand back halfway and made another small line leading away from a point on the first one, then beginning a new horizontal line parallel to the first. "This is the timeline we are in now. The point of divergence is where the event occurred that led to this dystopian future, when Lisa moved from California." She made a small 'X' on the first line several inches past where the second line had diverted from. "And this is the moment in our timeline where we came from. After that event diverged."

She let go of Caitlin's hand, who shifted it back and dug under her nail, grumbling under her breath about concrete dust before really looking at the drawn lines.

"Bugger me," the younger Abby breathed.

"It makes sense," the older Caitlin commented, her voice harsh.

The younger Caitlin nodded musingly. "Yeah, yeah it does."

"That is because I am the more intelligent sister," two sets of voices intoned simultaneously. The pair of Rebeccas glanced at each other with a small grin.

"God, twice as insufferable now," past-Caitlin groaned.

"Can we… work on us getting back now?" Kitty asked anxiously. "I mean, so it seems like where we come from, this all might not even happen… but it doesn't do us any good if we're still stuck here. No offense," she added quickly, glancing at the older sisters.

"None taken," the redhead in the middle chuckled lightly. "We have some ideas for that, from what Blink and your Abby have told us. And we have an individual who may be able to assist with this effort. She is a descendant of one of our friends from your time period, Noriko Ashida."

"Surge!" Blink exclaimed. "Does she have her powers?"

"Indeed, if anything those powers over electricity are more enhanced and controlled. We have been keeping her safe for some time from the invaders, while she helps us where she is able. Her name is Kimiko, but she has taken on the mantle of Surge."

"Sooo…" the younger Caitlin mused. "We use Surge's power to hit one of Blink's portals and, what… hope it goes in reverse? What guarantee do we have that it won't just eject us into another time or reality or whatever?"

The redhead nodded calmly. "I understand your concern. But I have done extensive research through… other means, that are not important to understand at this point. Suffice to say, your reality is calling for you, attached to you like a string. If you were to re-enter the portal flux once more, you should be pulled directly to where you left from."

"'Should' is not a definite," the past redheaded girl mused.

"It is not," her future copy agreed. "Still, it is the best we can hope for."

* * *

They had assembled aboveground in the ruins. Near as the five time-travelers could agree, it was as close to where they had originated from as possible.

The Resistance had troops spread out through the area as a precaution, but it seemed as if the Chitauri were laying low.

"Maybe we gave them a hard enough kick in the ass," the younger Caitlin mused. "Might make it easier for you guys."

"That would be nice," Rebecca's older counterpart agreed. "I will not count on it, though."

Goodbyes had already been said, odd an experience as that had been for the two sets of sisters. The older Abby stood with Blink in her arms for a good minute, though neither the purple-haired mutant nor the past copy of the blonde could really deny her that moment.

Especially since she was letting her past version keep the Chitauri energy warstaff.

"This is so bloody brill!" the blonde was whispering to her girlfriend excitedly as they stood around, waiting on the new Surge to arrive. "Can you just gen the fun I can have with this?"

"One can only imagine," Blink grinned wryly.

Caitlin was waiting with her sisters when the older, angrier version of herself motioned her over.

"You need to talk to yourself about something?" she quipped as she walked across the small clearing.

The older brunette grunted irritably. "Was I really this obnoxious when I was younger?"

"Yep, pretty much," she replied cheerfully. "Least, so I've been told. So what's up?"

"You must promise me something," the older brunette urged after a few moment's pause, her pale green eyes flashing with emotion for the first time.

"Um, yeah, okay. What?" the younger one replied.

"Don't ever stop loving." The future Caitlin paused, pain haunting her expression. "Love with all your heart, all your soul, all your body. Don't ever stop, and don't shut yourself off."

"Cat…" the younger brunette murmured, hesitantly reaching out with her hand. "Is that what happened to you to make you this way? After lost Lisa, you just gave up?"

The older woman stepped back out of reach. "Yeah. If it weren't for the love of our sisters…" She glanced over her shoulder where the blonde and redhead stood waiting. "I'd have been dead long ago," she finished in a whisper.

"Alright then," she replied levelly. "That's an easy enough promise to make."

Her older copy nodded brusquely and strode off, seemingly uninterested in watching them go. She joined her blonde sister as they left for the underground base.

Caitlin shook her head as she rejoined the others. "Rebecca, future one that is, I don't envy you your job," she sighed. "Your sisters are a real pain in the ass."

"They can be," she smiled softly. "But they are my sisters, and I love them dearly."

The younger redhead shared the same smile. "Yes, we do."

"You two, though, I am looking forward to separating," Caitlin continued humorously. "My Rebecca is getting far too many ideas from you."

"Nah, she's bloody well ace," Abby chuckled. "Seein' her handle the lot of us, inspiring, it is."

They shared a chuckle that broke off as a cluster of figures approached, separating to reveal a girl with long, waist-length blue hair and a face that reminded them heavily of Nori.

"Well, then, this would be Surge," the brunette murmured.

"Seems that way," Blink agreed. "Showtime?"

"Showtime," Abby agreed.

They set themselves up much as they had been in the alleyway, with Surge facing them silently. She seemed to be a person of few words but was already aware of the role she was to play, as electricity played along her hands in anticipation.

The future Rebecca gave them all a solemn nod before moving off with the rest of the personnel nearby, clearing the area except for the six of them.

"Okay," Blink said. "We ready?"

Surge nodded, as did the others. Taking a deep breath, Blink threw up a portal facing Surge but kept herself from creating a second one. She smiled briefly as Abby wrapped her arms around her waist and gave her a quick kiss on the back of her neck.

With a shout, Surge fired off a massive bolt of electricity at the portal, which quickly pulsed with an angry orange swirl of color much like it had previously.

"So far so good!" Caitlin yelled. "Whenever you're ready, Becca!"

The redhead nodded, and wordlessly allowed herself to be sucked in. Caitlin followed her, and then Kitty.

"Ready, luv?" Abby shouted over the howling wind.

Blink nodded, her heart racing as she waited for the moment it might expire. Seeing the pulses begin to increase, she grasped Abby's hands around her waist. "Now!" she yelled.

They were both lifted off of their feet and hurled forward, just before the portal imploded.

The amount of time spent in transit might have been the same, or it might not. Time was difficult to measure once they were inside, as they were forced once again to clench their eyes tightly shut.

Eventually, their journey ended with a _pop_ of relieved pressure, and Abby and Blink tumbled onto a hard surface in the midst of audible pandemonium.

"It's okay!" Caitlin was heard to be shouting. "That's the last of them, alright? Now stand down, already!"

The two prone girls carefully peeled their eyes open, only to wince at the flashing blue and red lights and probing beams of light. "What the bloody hell?" the blonde grumbled.

A small hand slipped into her own and pulled her to her feet, along with Blink. "We did it," Rebecca said with a wide smile. "We returned. It is, however, now a crime scene."

Blink chuckled as she took in the assembled, and rather jumpy, police. "So, same day I'm guessing… How close are we timewise?"

"A little over an hour."

"Remarkable," Abby breathed.

Caitlin walked over to them with Kitty by her side. "Right, I think I got them all settled. At least they're not gonna arrest us or anything, so we're free to go. Already gave them a statement, since Becca and I arrived fifteen minutes ago."

"Time travel," Kitty lamented. "Not for the faint of heart."

The five of them shared a giggle until Blink perked up.

"Hey, you know what?" she exclaimed. "As much as I want to sleep in a nice warm bed for a week… I never did get to finish my burger!"

They shared another laugh, far louder this time, as they headed across the street and towards the cafe where their day had begun, so many weeks ago.

* * *

Chinatown, New York City

"I'll get it!" Caitlin called out from upstairs. Blink cringed as she stopped her forward progress, knowing what was coming and yet still afraid the brunette girl might land on her head at some point.

With a light _thud_ , the diminutive girl landed on bare feet right in front of her after vaulting over the upstairs railing, shooting a smirk over her shoulder as she trotted over to the apartment's front door. "Are you still worried I'm gonna land on you?"

"No," the purple-haired girl replied defensively, much to the amusement of the other two sisters currently preparing dinner in the kitchen.

" _Suuure_ you aren't, luv," Abby chuckled lightly.

By that point, Caitlin had reached the door and flung it open. "Kitty! Right on time! You know you can always just phase on in, right?"

The brunette mutant laughed as she entered, giving her friend a quick hug on the way by. "I could, yeah, but it's rude. 'Sides, I don't want to interrupt the lovers over there."

Both Blink and Abby flushed a light pink. "It's not like we do anything outside of our bedroom!" the mutant girl protested.

"Bullshit," Caitlin coughed into her fist.

"What was that, then?" her blonde sister asked dangerously, placing a bowl of steaming Pad Thai on the table.

"Oh, nothing," the brunette replied innocently. "Do remember, though, that I'm a tracker. There is no way possible for you to cover up the scent of sex unless you use massive amounts of bleach."

Blink shared a guilty look with her girlfriend. "Um, yeah… good to know…"

"Please tell me you did not do anything on my favorite chair," Rebecca sighed, carefully bringing out another bowl of Tom Yum soup to complete the setting of five. They'd bought another few chairs for their little kitchen table now that they sometimes had company over for dinner, and especially now that Blink was living with them pretty much full-time unless she was needed for missions with the X-Men.

"Sure, luv, I won't tell you any such thing," Abby replied glibly.

Rebecca closed her eyes for a brief second and shook her head before taking her seat. "Abby, I love you dearly, and yet at the same time I sometimes do despise you."

"All part of my charm," the blonde joked, taking her seat as well.

The five friends sat in a circle and joined hands, smiling around at each other briefly before starting in on their meals.

"So, Kitty, anything new?" Blink asked curiously.

The brunette mutant shook her head as she slurped down a mouthful of the spicy soup. "Not really. Still on for the training exercise next week?"

"Yep, I'll be there. Um… do you think Professor X would mind some tagalongs?"

Kitty looked around with a wide grin at three practically identical visages who were doing their very best to look as innocent as possible. "Oh, I don't think it'd be a problem…"

"Yesss!" Caitlin cheered quietly. "Um, I mean… oh, cool, yeah, we just might drop by. If, y'know, we're not busy or anything…"

"Mmhmm," Kitty replied, not fooled in the slightest. "So how about you guys, any new S.H.I.E.L.D. assignments?"

"Welll…" Abby said with the hint of a grin. "We've been just a tad busy, training in our new teammate and all…"

"New teammate?" Kitty asked, her brow furrowed only for a moment before turning to Blink incredulously. "No way, they said yes?"

"They said yes," the purple-haired mutant teen confirmed with a happy grin. "I mean, I'm still an X-Man, but also an Agent part-time now. Salaried and everything."

"That's so cool, sweetie! I'm really happy for you."

"You should have seen Coulson and Fury during her interview," Caitlin chuckled merrily. "The both of them were practically drooling when they realized exactly who she was and what she could do."

"I actually got to talk to Captain America and Natasha as well," Blink added somewhat shyly. "They said I could come with these guys next time they train as well."

"Yeah, there's another one who was happy enough," Abby laughed. "Tasha's eyes lit right on up, they did, thinking of the fun and evil scenarios she could set up with you on the OpFor…"

The five of them shared a laugh but then settled back down to finish their meal.

"So," Kitty eventually murmured. "Have you guys told anyone yet?"

Caitlin sighed, glancing at the others before shaking her head. "No. I almost spoke with Tasha… but I keep remembering how in that other timeline she was on the other side, and I just…"

Her redheaded sister laid a gentle hand on her arm. "I do not believe it wise to bring this up, truthfully. We have hopefully averted any such occurrence here, as the timeline has already advanced past the point previously. And not just due to Lisa not moving out here, but for whatever reason, these 'Accords' have not happened here."

They had all breathed a collective sigh of relief the previous month when Lisa had graduated from UCLA. She was now working on her graduate degree up in Washington State, and they all hoped that this meant that the events of the timeline were irrevocably altered here.

Abby sat back and crossed her arms. "So what do we do if it does happen, then? We going to just watch the same bloody mess unfurl?"

"No," Caitlin replied firmly. "If it looks like it'll happen again… we stop it. Right at the onset, we get everyone together and explain the future we've seen, and we put an end to the killing before it even starts."

"With just us?" Kitty asked, quietly incredulous. "How can the five of us prevent everything we saw?"

"Because it's us," Caitlin shrugged with a confident grin. "And we're badasses."

"Well, how can we argue with logic like that," Blink laughed, lifting up her glass of iced tea. "Here's to us, then."

"Cheers," Abby smiled, joined by the others.

The five girls took a drink from their drinks, outwardly relaxed and enjoying the company of the others.

Inwardly, though, they all had a small niggling worry that even as powerful as they were both individually and as a group… it might not be enough.

But time would tell. For now, they had each other. And that would _have_ to be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I managed to end this story on a note that is worthy of them, as I've grown to love the Brown sisters so very dearly. This story was originally published on FF.net on 2015.12.04 and finally finished up on 2016.03.28 - and that took me entirely too long to wrap up. It was my last story within the MCU. Hope you enjoyed, I'll post up my little collection of drabbles to the [MCU Unchained Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/628508) after this, called the _Unchained Vignettes_.
> 
> Stay shiny!


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